Two Strangers Learn To Fall In Love Again
by FinchelFan728
Summary: Based during Season 1. Fed up with the bullying at McKinley, Rachel transfers schools. Finn does not know that Quinn's baby isn't his and wants so badly for Rachel to stay, but is torn. How will they find their way back to each other? And will the truth ever be revealed?
1. Chapter 1: Slushie Attacks

_Hi guys! This is a story idea I've had for a while. This story begins a few weeks before Sectionals in Season 1. I'd say it takes place before 1x12, since the lies about the pregnancies haven't been revealed yet, but Quinn is living at Finn's house. All events from 1x1 to 1x11 are canon. There will be some of the same events from later episodes, but it will be pretty AU from here. Rachel will be switching schools, and Finn will not be happy about that ;) How will they find their way back to each other? And will the truth about the baby ever be revealed?_

Chapter 1: Slushie Attacks

Sophomore year was going better for Rachel than freshman year had. Not much better, but better. Glee club was definitely more fun with Mr. Schue leading it and she'd developed a friendship with Finn. When Mr. Ryerson led the Glee club, they didn't even make it to Sectionals and it was poorly run.

She was even beginning to get the feeling some of the other kids in the Glee club didn't dislike her. Maybe they didn't exactly like her, but they didn't seem to actively hate her. Finn of course was always nice to her and they even hung out on the weekends sometimes. Artie, Tina, Brittany, Mike and Matt didn't insult her, and even Kurt and Mercedes had their moments when they agreed with her.

Sectionals were only a few weeks away, and Rachel couldn't wait. She and Finn were the leads of the Glee club, so she was sure Mr. Schue would let them lead a big group number. She loved the looks he gave her when they performed, and she thought their voices sounded perfect together.

Rachel's thoughts were interrupted by a slushie in her face. It was already mid-November and unseasonably cold for this time of year, so now she was even more cold. Her eyes stung, though now that she was used to the slushies, it didn't bother her as much.

"You can't do that!" a voice said. Rachel turned and saw Finn going up to Karofsky.

"Oh yeah?" Karofsky asked as he took another slushie and tossed it on Finn.

Rachel groaned as she headed to the bathroom. Glee was the one bright spot of this year, but other than that, this year wasn't much different from other years. She was still getting slushies thrown on her, several a day.

"Are you okay?" someone in the bathroom asked.

Rachel looked at the other girl in the bathroom. She didn't know her. "Yeah, just a slushie attack."

"Those things have got to hurt," the girl said.

"I get them thrown on me so much, I'm used to it," Rachel admitted.

"Do you need a change of clothes?" the girl asked.

"It's happened so many times, I'm prepared," Rachel sighed.

"Wow," the girl said. "If people threw slushies on me a lot, I'd leave this school. Feel better." She left the room.

Standing in the bathroom, Rachel began to think about what this stranger just said to her. Why was she at McKinley? She only had one real friend, and Quinn did everything in her power to get in the way of that. While the Glee club sounded good in their rehearsals, they were more than likely going to compete against Vocal Adrenaline at Regionals, and they didn't stand a chance against the defending national champions. Her talent wasn't appreciated here. The Glee club was the bottom feeders of the social chain.

"Are you okay?" another voice said as Rachel was leaving the bathroom. She turned again and saw Finn.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Rachel said. "It's just that I already changed clothes once today..." She sighed. She'd done a pretty good job at cleaning up her clothes when she got slushied earlier. They'd have to do.

Finn took off his letterman jacket and handed it to Rachel. "Here. Wear my jacket."

"What are you doing?" Finn and Rachel both turned to see Quinn walking toward them.

"Rachel got slushied," Finn said. "She needs something clean and warm to wear."

"Are you forgetting something?" Quinn asked, giving Finn and Rachel both icy glares."

"That you have something I could wear?" Rachel said, wanting to get the best of Quinn for once.

"That I'm having your baby," Quinn said to Finn. "I'm living at your house because my parents don't want me there anymore." She stepped closer to Rachel. "It's like I told you, you'll never have him."

Rachel felt her heart breaking as she looked up at Finn. He gave her a sympathetic look. As Quinn dragged Finn away, Rachel thought more about what that girl had said to her in the bathroom. As much as she and Finn liked spending time together, as much as she liked him, as much as she was sure he liked her, they couldn't be together. A man just couldn't walk out on the woman carrying his baby.

Finn was really the only thing Rachel didn't want to leave at McKinley. She was sure at another school, her talent would help her be a more appreciated member of the student body and the glee club wouldn't be shunned. Right then and there, she decided she wanted to find a school like that.

x

"How was school today?" Hiram asked Rachel at dinner.

Rachel took a deep breath. She wasn't sure what her dads would think of the idea of changing schools. Still, it wouldn't hurt to talk to them about it. "I got slushied four times today."

"Four times?" LeRoy asked.

"Four times," Rachel confirmed. She looked at her dads. "I really can't take this anymore."

"Of course you can't," LeRoy said. "I don't know why that school lets kids do that to each other. If someone did that at my high school, they would have been suspended."

"I'm calling the school to complain," Hiram said.

"Don't bother," Rachel said. "The school principal is completely worthless. He doesn't do anything unless Coach Sylvester tells him to, and she hates the glee club." She looked at both her dads. "I want to switch schools. Do you think any of our relatives in other cities would let me use their addresses to go to their schools?"

"Rachel, I'm honestly surprised you didn't ask us about switching schools sooner," Hiram said. "The way kids treat you at McKinley... your dad and I would be willing to pay private school tuition if it means you'd get away from that."

"The only reason I've been staying for so long - " Rachel paused. She wanted to tell her dads about Finn, but she couldn't.

"The glee club?" Hiram asked. "I know McKinley's glee club won Nationals back in the day, but things have changed."

"Yeah," Rachel said. That wasn't a complete lie.

"I'm sure we could find a school that has a good glee club," Hiram said. "It's too bad we don't live in the Carmel zone."

"Yeah," Rachel said again. She knew that going to Carmel would be like the ultimate betrayal to New Directions. But she realized her dad had a point. From looking at the Facebook and Twitter pages of the members of Vocal Adrenaline, it was clear that they were the cheerios of Carmel High. Kids who weren't even in the group commented on their status updates about Vocal Adrenaline. Their lead, Jesse St. James, appeared to have most of the girls at Carmel waiting for him to ask them out.

Before Rachel met Finn, she was hoping that her talent would help her become the girl who all the boys would want to be with. There was only one boy she wanted to be with. While Finn was the only reason she was reluctant to leave McKinley, he was also part of the reason she wanted to leave. It would be very painful to see him and Quinn with their child after he or she was born.

"I'm going to go online and look at some schools," Rachel told her dads as she went upstairs. Before she went to google schools, she logged into myspace. She hadn't posted a new video in a few days (she was falling behind!), but it wasn't as if that mattered. Her only new comments were mean comments from the cheerios.

Searching online, Rachel found some school districts nearby that had open enrollment, but none of them appeared to have strong music programs. She then googled "Ohio high school glee clubs" and found a school called Dalton Academy. The school had a great glee club and a strict no-bullying policy. Unfortunately, it was an all boys school. As Rachel looked around their website, she noticed that they had a sister school, Crawford County Day, which also had a good glee club and a strict no-bullying policy. Looking around the website more, she saw that if she was accepted, she could start next semester.

x

Rachel nervously knocked on Mr. Schue's office door. She'd filled out her application to Crawford County Day last night and her dads had sent it in this morning. "Mr. Schue, can I talk to you about something?"

Mr. Schue looked up. "Hey, Rachel. Of course you can."

Rachel went into Mr. Schue's office. "Mr. Schue, I think you should know now that I might not be here next semester."

Mr. Schue looked shocked. "Rachel, we can't lose you! You're our best singer!"

"I know, and that's part of the reason why I'm leaving," Rachel said. "I want to be more than the best singer. I want to be liked. I'm tired of people calling me names and leaving mean comments on my videos and throwing slushies at me. And Principal Figgins won't stop people from doing that stuff. Sue Sylvester's really the one with power and she hates the Glee club."

"Will you still be around for Sectionals?" Mr. Schue asked.

Rachel sighed. Mr. Schue seemed more concerned about losing their star singer. "It depends what happens. I want to be somewhere where I'm liked for who I am."

"Everyone in the glee club likes you!" Mr. Schue protested.

"No they don't!" Rachel said. "They like my voice. Mr. Schue, I'm sorry, but I can't stay here. Please don't tell anyone yet, because nothing's definite yet." With that, she got up and went into the hall, where she was hit with a slushie.

"Don't do that!" a voice said. Again, Finn was defending her, but she didn't even know who the boy who'd thrown the slushie at her was. The boy ignored Finn and walked away, and Finn came up to Rachel. "I'm so sorry, Rach."

Rachel almost told Finn she was considering transferring schools, but decided not to. Him defending her reminded her of how much she'd miss him if she got into Crawford County Day, but all he ever would be was a friend. "Thanks," Rachel said. "So, are you excited for Sectionals?" Hopefully Mr. Schue would let them sing together, or he might not give Rachel any songs because he now knew.

"So excited," Finn said. "Last night, I was looking at some songs that I think might be good for you and me."

"Finn, you shouldn't have done that," Rachel said. She was going to miss singing with him so much, but she couldn't take the bullying anymore. "It was wrong of me to throw myself at you. Quinn's having your baby, and you've been with her for a while. I shouldn't get in the way of that." It pained her to say that, but it was true.

"Rachel, don't say that," Finn said. "You're really cool and I love spending time with you."

"I love spending time with you, too," Rachel said. She was beginning to feel guilty for leaving Finn. She could tell he liked her, but she knew at the same time that he wasn't supposed to like her like that.

There was a possibility she wouldn't end up being able to transfer schools. There was a possibility Finn and Quinn would give up the baby and break up. Rachel didn't know what the future held. All she knew was she wanted to be accepted.


	2. Chapter 2: I'm Leaving

_Thanks so much for all the nice reviews on the first chapter! I really enjoyed reading them. I'm sorry it took so long to update. Between working Black Friday and going home for Thanksgiving, things have been pretty crazy and I haven't had as much time to write as I would have liked. I hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving! Hope you guys enjoy this chapter and review if you want me to continue!_

Chapter 2: I'm Leaving

Sectionals had been a rousing success and the New Directions had won without much trouble. To Rachel's surprise, Mr. Schuester had given her and Finn the leads. She had let Kurt sing Defying Gravity as a solo, but Mr. Schue let Rachel and Finn lead the two big group numbers, You Can't Always Get What You Want and Somebody To Love. Kurt had looked surprised when Rachel told him he could have her solo for Sectionals, but he didn't complain.

At Rachel's request, Mr. Schue kept it quiet that she was switching schools. She'd gotten accepted to Crawford County Day and would be starting when the new semester started. She was happy that the New Directions had won their Sectionals, but at the same time it was a sad time. This would most likely be the last time she'd sing with Finn.

It was the last day of the fall semester at McKinley, and Rachel was at her locker, cleaning it out. She'd decided not to go to Glee practice today, simply because it would be too hard. When she gave up the solo for Sectionals, lots of people had begun to see her as more than the girl who loved the spotlight. She'd even had lunch with Kurt, Mercedes, Artie and Tina a few times, and she and Finn had hung out together a few times on weekends. Even Quinn was being nicer to her.

But she couldn't stay at a school where people threw slushies on her and didn't get punished. She was still seeing bizarre things about her written on the bathroom wall.

x

"Okay everyone, we did great at Sectionals, now we have to start getting ready for Regionals," Mr. Schue said.

Finn looked around the choir room. Mr. Schue was starting Glee club without Rachel there? That didn't make sense! Rachel was the most committed to the Glee club. She probably had lots of great ideas for Regionals. Why wasn't he waiting for her? And why wasn't she here yet? She was usually the first one here!

"Since Kurt got the solo at Sectionals, can I have the solo for Regionals?" Mercedes asked.

"Well, there's something about Regionals we need to talk about," Mr. Schue told the group. "If we want to go to Regionals, as you may notice, we're going to need to find a twelfth member."

"What?" the entire group said. They looked around the room.

"What do you mean?" Artie asked.

"As you guys may have noticed, Rachel is no longer with us," Mr. Schue said. "She is going to spend the rest of the year at an all girls private school. So guys, talk to your friends, to people in your classes. We're going to need a twelfth member if we even want to go to Regionals."

"Why did Rachel leave?" Finn asked. And why hadn't she told anyone? Why hadn't she told him?

"That's not for me to tell you guys," Mr. Schue said. "Now, let's start brainstorming some ideas for Regionals. And we'll also need to do a song for the school to attract a twelfth member."

Finn couldn't believe what was happening. Rachel was leaving? Why? He could barely focus during practice, and when practice was over, he was still thinking about Rachel.

"Finn, could you please tell your mom to turn up the heat at night?" Quinn asked as they were leaving the classroom. "It was so cold last night."

"I can't believe Rachel left," Finn said.

"Don't you care about our baby?" Quinn asked.

"Our baby?" Finn asked. "I thought we were giving it up."

"We are, but it's ours until it's born," Quinn said. "It's in my stomach now."

"I really wish I'd gotten a say in this," Finn sighed. He wasn't sure if Quinn was the one he wanted to spend his life with. He was developing stronger and stronger feelings for Rachel every day. But he did feel some connection to the baby girl Quinn was carrying. He didn't want to be a bad father.

"Well, it's like I told you earlier, this is my body, so I make the calls," Quinn snapped. "I already know who I'm giving the baby to and we have everything worked out."

That was another thing that made Finn suspicious. Why wouldn't Quinn let him meet these mysterious adoptive parents? "But I don't know who the baby's going to. Don't I deserve to meet the people who will be raising my daughter?"

"She's not your daughter, Finn!" Quinn said. "She's their daughter. I'm just carrying her. This wasn't supposed to happen. We're going to be prom king and queen. I'm going to get back on the cheerios and win Nationals our junior and senior years. I'm going to get a full scholarship to an Ivy League college and become successful. A baby would get in the way of all that."

Finn sighed. He knew arguing with Quinn would get him nowhere. "You know, I bet you're part of the reason why Rachel left," Quinn said.

"What?" Finn asked. Why would Rachel leave because of him? He was the only one who'd been consistently nice to her? "That wouldn't happen!"

"Think about it," Quinn said. "She's all over you, but she knows you can't be together because I'm pregnant with your baby."

Now Finn stopped in his tracks. Quinn had a point. He knew Rachel wanted for them to be together. He wanted to be together, but they couldn't. Could this be part of the reason why Rachel left?

"I am kind of sorry Rachel left," Quinn continued. "When she's not trying to steal you and when she's quiet, she isn't bad. Plus, we don't have a shot at Regionals without her."

"I'm sure we can find a twelfth member," Finn said. He wasn't sure. The Glee club had been around since the beginning of the school year and there hadn't been any interest.

"Even if they were, they wouldn't be as talented as Rachel," Quinn said.

That made Finn a little sad. Did people just want Rachel around for her talent? He made up his mind then and there that he was going to talk to Rachel. Maybe it wasn't too late for her to come back.

x

After basketball practice that evening, Finn told his mom and Quinn that he was going to get some snacks with some of the guys from the basketball team, but in reality, he was going to Rachel's. He'd gotten his license when he turned sixteen back in October, so he didn't have to worry about asking his mom for a ride. Rachel had also gotten her license when she turned sixteen in December. Gosh, everything reminded him of Rachel. He had to get her back.

Finn went up to Rachel's door and rang the bell. Rachel's dad Hiram answered the door. "Hi Finn."

"Hi Mr. Berry," Finn said. "Is Rachel home?"

"She sure is," Hiram said. "We really hope you two stay in touch after Rachel switches schools. You were her first real friend and we're really thankful to you for that."

Finn gave him a small smile. "Thanks, Mr. Berry. I'm really going to miss Rachel."

"She's upstairs in her room if you want to see her," Hiram said.

"Thanks," Finn said as he went upstairs and knocked on Rachel's door.

Rachel came to the door and smiled wide when she opened it. She looked surprised and pleased. "Finn!"

"Hey Rach," Finn said. "Can I come in?"

Rachel smiled big. "Of course! I wasn't expecting you."

Finn sat down on Rachel's bed. "Mr. Schue told us."

Rachel looked down. "I'm sorry, Finn. Maybe I should have told you on your own."

"Rachel, you can't leave!" Finn begged. He didn't care how desperate he sounded. He didn't want her to leave.

"Because of my amazing voice?" Rachel asked. "You guys will be fine at Regionals without me. Kurt did the solo at Sectionals and you still won. You're very talented. So are Kurt, Mercedes, Artie and Tina."

It was like Finn's conversation with Quinn earlier. Rachel thought the only reason people wanted her there was her voice. "It's not just that!" Finn protested. He might as well just tell her. "Rachel, I don't want you to leave! I love spending time with you. I always have so much fun and feel so comfortable when I'm with you. You really understand me and you always make me feel good about myself. Please Rachel, don't leave." He couldn't believe he'd just said all that.

Rachel looked touched and flattered. She tried to speak several times, but nothing came out. "You know, we can still hang out after school and on the weekends," she finally said.

"Yeah, I guess," Finn sighed. "But I'm really going to miss seeing you every day."

"Maybe this is for the better for us," Rachel said. "I know I've caused some tension between you and Quinn, and maybe that'll go away if I leave."

"Rachel, don't worry about Quinn," Finn said.

"I have to worry about Quinn," Rachel said. "I don't like that you two are together, but I need to accept that. She's having your baby."

"She's giving the baby up for adoption!" Finn said. "I don't even know who she's giving the baby to!"

"You don't?" Rachel asked. "That's not right! You should know!"

Finn knew that if it was Rachel who he'd gotten pregnant, she would have included him in every step of the decision making process. "Yeah, I don't like it, but there's really nothing I can do."

"I'm sorry, Finn," Rachel said. "It'll be okay." She took both his hands.

Finn sighed. "I hope." When Rachel left, who was he going to talk to when he needed someone to lift him up?

"Finn, I'm really going to miss you, I just can't take all the bullying," Rachel said. "And let's face it, Coach Sylvester is the one with power at our school, not Principal Figgins, and she hates the Glee club. Unless she leaves, which I doubt she will, things aren't going to get any better. I'm tired of people calling me names, I'm tired of the slushie facials, I'm tired of the nasty messages about me on the bathroom wall and my myspace videos. Crawford County Day has a strict no bullying policy and that's what I need."

Finn realized convincing Rachel to stay may be a lost cause. "Just call and text me now and then, okay?"

Rachel nodded. "Of course." She gave Finn a big hug. As if both of them were thinking but not thinking at the same time, the two of them both leaned in and kissed.

They looked at each other for a few seconds before Finn spoke. "I should probably go now."

"Yeah," Rachel said. "See you around, Finn."

Finn went to his mom's car, feeling a bit defeated. He'd kissed Rachel again, and it felt just as good as it felt the first two times, but she was still leaving. How often would he see her? Was there hope for them?

No, he shouldn't be thinking like this. He was with someone else right now. And that someone else was in his life a lot more right now than Rachel was. He pulled into his driveway and went inside, where his mom was waiting. "Hey sweetie," Carole said. "Did you and your friends have fun?"

"Yeah," Finn said. He did feel guilty for lying to his mom and to Quinn, but he knew Quinn would be furious if she knew what really happened.

"Quinn told me you guys lost the star of the Glee club," Carole said. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, Rachel was great, I'm sorry she left," Finn said. He was going to find a way to bring Rachel back.

_Chapter 3 preview: Rachel starts at the new school and Quinn's plan to give the baby to Terri is revealed. What will Finn think of it? Finchel moments too!_


	3. Chapter 3: Discoveries

_Thanks for the reviews on Chapter 2, I really appreciate them! I promise there will be Finchel eventually, but it will take time. Rachel's friends (who you meet in this chapter) are characters from an original fiction series I wrote a few years back. I've always wanted to somehow bring them to my fanfics and I'm so excited to bring them in! Hope you guys like this chapter and review if you want me to keep going! And of course, enjoy the Christmas episode tomorrow!_

Chapter 3: Discoveries

They say that everyone's nervous on the night before the first day of school. Rachel was no exception. Even though she'd liked this school when she visited it, she was still nervous about the first day. The girls who went to school here were almost all wealthy. What if they looked down on her for having two gay dads? The school wore a uniform, so she didn't need to worry about the girls making fun of her clothes.

She told herself to stop worrying. How bad could it be? No one could get away with throwing liquids at her or writing disturbing things about her on the bathroom walls. She nervously looked in the mirror. The pleated skirt, white blouse and navy blue blazer weren't too different from her usual wardrobe. The glee club director had liked her audition, and since it was a class here, it would be an easy A.

She was going to be fine. At least that's what she told herself.

"You ready to go?" Rachel looked in the doorway of her room and saw her dads.

"Yeah, I'm ready," Rachel said.

"Remember, just be yourself today," Hiram said. "Maybe these girls will be nicer than the kids at McKinley."

"I hope so," Rachel said.

"That wouldn't take much," LeRoy said.

Rachel nervously got in the car with her dads. As she flipped on her phone, her eyes immediately fell on the backdrop, a picture of her and Finn from Sectionals. Then she felt a little sad. Would she see Finn again? Well, maybe at Regionals. But it wouldn't be as regular.

She couldn't keep thinking about Finn. Not this much. He'd chosen Quinn over her. There had been many opportunities for him to choose her and he always stayed with Quinn.

Rachel's dads' car pulled into the parking lot at Crawford County Day School. This was it. Rachel was now a student here. She wasn't at McKinley anymore.

Nervously, Rachel went into the school, noticing right away what she'd noticed when she visited - how quiet it was. The girls stood around the halls talking amongst themselves. There was no screaming in the halls like there was at McKinley. She went to her locker and got it opened okay. One less thing to be stressed over. She began looking at her schedule, trying to figure out where her homeroom would be, when a girl came up to her. She nervously turned to the girl next to her. She had reddish brown hair to her shoulders and green eyes. "Hey," the girl said. "Are you one of the new girls this semester?"

"Yeah, I'm Rachel," Rachel said.

"I'm Sasha," the girl said. "Where did you transfer here from?"

"McKinley High, it's in Lima," Rachel explained.

"You'll like it here," Sasha said. "I've been here since preschool and everyone's really nice."

"I hope so," Rachel said. "I'm going to be in the choir here."

"Oh, that's cool," Sasha said. "My friends Jessica and Zoey are in the choir and they really like it."

"Are you a sophomore?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah," Sasha said. "Come on, I'll show you to our homeroom."

The girls walked to the homeroom talking when Sasha sat down with four other girls. "Hey guys," Sasha said. "This is Rachel, she's new this semester."

"I'm Jessica," the girl with a brown bob and hazel eyes said.

"I'm Natalie," the girl with brown hair to her shoulders and blue eyes said.

"I'm Lauren," the girl with long blond hair and green eyes said.

"I'm Zoey," the girl with red hair and brown eyes said.

"Want to sit with us?" Lauren asked.

"Sure," Rachel said, smiling as she sat down. "Sasha told me that two of you guys are in choir."

"Yeah, me and Jessica," Zoey said. "It's so much fun, we made it to Regionals this year."

"So did the choir at my old school," Rachel said.

"It would be odd if they competed against you guys," Lauren said. "Well, I'm in the band, so I'll be providing music for the choir at Regionals."

"That's cool," Rachel said. It felt good that these girls were willing to talk to her even though they'd just met her. Maybe switching schools had been a good idea.

"Do you have a boyfriend, Rachel?" Zoey asked. "If you don't, wait until you meet the Dalton boys!"

Again, Rachel's thoughts went back to Finn. She couldn't keep doing this. "No." It probably wasn't a good idea to tell her friends about Finn. Not yet anyway.

x

The first glee club meeting without Rachel had just ended, and immediately Finn knew it wasn't as much fun without Rachel. Mr. Schue admitted his plan was for Finn and Rachel to do a duet at Regionals, but now he wanted Finn to do a solo of his choosing. Again, Mr. Schue asked if anyone had any luck with finding a twelfth member, and no one had. Finn honestly hadn't been thinking about getting a twelfth member. He was still trying to accept that Rache had left.

"Finn, Quinn, can you stick around for a few minutes?" Mr. Schue asked.

Finn gave his girlfriend a confused look. What did Mr. Schue need with them? "Sure."

"Yeah, what's going on?" Quinn asked.

Mr. Schue didn't say anything yet. When everyone else had left the room, he closed the door and walked over to Finn and Quinn. "So, why didn't you two tell me about what was going on with my wife?"

"What?" Finn asked. He had no idea what Mr. Schue was talking about. He looked at Quinn, but she didn't look as confused as Finn was. In fact, she looked guilty, like she knew exactly what Mr. Schue was talking about.

"Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about, Finn," Mr. Schue said firmly.

"He didn't know..." Quinn stuttered.

Finn was shocked. "Know what?"

"So this was between you and Terri?" Mr. Schue asked Quinn.

"Yeah... we didn't think you'd find out," Quinn said.

What were they talking about? "What is going on?" Finn asked.

Mr. Schue gave Quinn a look. Quinn looked at Finn. "Terri was having trouble getting pregnant," Quinn explained. "She thought she was pregnant, but she turned out not to be. She was afraid to tell Mr. Schue that she wasn't pregnant, so she decided to fake it. When she found out I was pregnant, she asked me if she could adopt the baby after it was born so they'd get a baby. We were going to fake a birth certificate and everything..."

Finn couldn't believe what Quinn and Terri had been doing. "That's crazy!"

"I think so too, Finn," Mr. Schue said. He turned to Quinn. "You should have come to me when Terri came to you about that."

"I just wanted the baby to go to a good home," Quinn said.

"You can find a good home with an adoption agency," Mr. Schue said. "That never would have worked. They couldn't just hand the baby over to Terri after it was born. Adoption takes months of interviews and paperwork. Don't you think that I would have been suspicious if Terri went to the hospital without me and came back with a baby? Don't you think if by some odd circumstance, she went through with it, I'd notice that the baby looked like you two?"

Finn was just annoyed Quinn hadn't told him. "You worked out an elaborate plan for what to do with our baby? And you didn't tell me?"

Quinn looked worried. "I thought you'd tell Mr. Schue."

"Of course I would have!" Finn said. "This isn't right! We can't tell so many lies!" He couldn't believe Quinn was being this manipulative. "It's my child, too! Don't I deserve a say in what happens?"

"You do," Mr. Schue said, eyeing Quinn. "Quinn, I know this is an upsetting and difficult situation, but there are so many resources out there that could help you find a good home for your child."

"I would like to be part of that," Finn said. "I would like to meet any prospective parents."

"You should be a part of it," Mr. Schue said, eyeing Quinn.

Quinn looked at Finn. "Yeah, you can."

"You two may go now," Mr. Schue said. Finn looked at Quinn as they were leaving, not knowing what to say.

"It's like I said, I thought you'd tell him if I told you," Quinn told Finn.

Finn breathed in. "Of course I would. Quinn, we're sitting down together with potential adoptive families, and we'll decide together who's the best one." It was about time he get some control in this situation. Quinn had yelled at him to pay medical bills for so long.

"Mr. Schue would have given our kid a good home," Quinn said. "And his wife wants a kid."

"I'm sure the adoption agency could help us find a good home," Finn said. He still couldn't believe what Quinn was doing behind his back. If only they hadn't been in the hot tub that night. He could have broken up with Quinn and gotten with Rachel, and Rachel would still be here.

No. He couldn't keep thinking about Rachel. He was with Quinn.

x

Rachel looked at the clock. It was nine in the evening, and she still hadn't finished all her homework. Even when she took AP classes at McKinley, they didn't give this much work. And since her new school was a long drive, she'd have to get up earlier in the morning to get there tomorrow.

The phone rang, and Rachel smiled when she saw who was calling. This would be a nice break from studying. She smiled and picked up the phone. "Hey Finn."

"Hey Rach," Finn said. "So, how was your first day?"

He wanted to know how her day went? How sweet! "It's a lot different from McKinley," Rachel said. "No one would think about throwing slushies on me, or anyone, here. It's so quiet in the halls."

"Well, that's good," Finn said. "Did you join the glee club yet?"

"Yeah," Rachel said. "It's a class here. I really miss you, though."

"I miss you, too," Finn said. "We're trying to find a twelfth member for glee club, but no one could replace you."

"I wonder if we'll compete against each other at Regionals," Rachel thought out loud. It would definitely be strange to compete against her old team.

"Yeah, me too," Finn said. "Oh, Rach, guess what?"

"Tell me," Rachel said.

"Well, behind my back, Quinn was making some plans with Terri Schuester," Finn said. "They were plotting that Quinn would give Terri our baby. Terri was pretending to be pregnant, and when she went into labor, she'd call Terri to meet her at the hospital. Terri would go, and then she'd put together a birth certificate as if it was her kid, and then she'd tell Mr. Schue that she had her baby, using ours."

Rachel could barely comprehend that. "What? That's crazy!"

"Isn't it?" Finn asked.

"So what are you doing now?" Rachel asked. She felt slightly selfish for thinking this, but she hoped they weren't keeping the baby. If they gave the baby up, maybe she and Finn could be together one day.

"Well, I decided to take control," Finn said. "I told her that we're meeting with all prospective families together and together we'll pick one."

"Good for you, Finn," Rachel said. "I'm glad you're standing up to her." She didn't understand why they were together. Even though she'd learned a few times that Quinn wasn't a bad person, they just didn't fit.

"So, do you think we could hang out sometime?" Finn asked. "I know it's only been one day but I definitely miss seeing you."

"Yeah, definitely," Rachel said. She looked at her stack of books. "Depends on how much homework I have."

"I'll let you get back to your homework then," Finn said. "Bye Rachel."

"Bye Finn," Rachel said as she hung up the phone.

_Chapter 4 preview: Rachel and Finn find out that they will be competing against each other at Regionals. A familiar face makes their in-story debut. Finn struggles to find a twelfth New Directions member._

_10 reviews to unlock chapter 4!_


	4. Chapter 4: Competition

_Wow! Thanks so much for so many nice reviews on Chapter 3! I really enjoyed reading them! I've been enjoying writing this story, as it's a plot I've always been interested in. Plus, I've always wanted to bring some of my original fiction characters into my fanfics! My plans for this chapter changed slightly, but I hope you still enjoy it! Don't forget to review if you should keep writing!_

Chapter 4: Competition

"Finn, I need you to sign these papers."

Finn looked up from his desk and saw Quinn standing there with a printout. "It's for the adoption agency," Quinn said. "They'll find potential parents for our baby for us to meet with. I already filled most of it out, so I just need you to sign it."

Finn still felt conflicted about this situation. He wasn't sure how much he liked the idea of his baby going to another family, but at the same time, he didn't think Quinn was the one, and he wanted to be married with a solid career before he had kids. Hopefully married to Rachel.

Arguing with Quinn had never gotten him anywhere, so he reluctantly took the pen and signed the papers. Quinn mailed them on the way to school, and when they got there, Quinn went off with Brittany and Santana and Finn went to go talk with Puck. "Dude, today she had me sign papers that are the first step to giving away the baby."

Puck looked horrified, much more horrified than Finn expected. "You mean you're not even considering keeping her?"

"This is what Quinn wants," Finn said. He thought about what Puck said. Her. Quinn referred to the baby as "it" so often...

"Don't you deserve a say in all this?" Puck asked.

"Apparently not," Finn admitted. "To be honest, I just want all this to be over."

"Finn, can I ask you something?" Puck asked.

"Go ahead," Finn said.

"Are you SURE that's your kid?" Puck asked, giving Finn a strange look. He lowered his voice. "You told me you and Quinn never did it."

"You think Quinn cheated on me?" Finn gasped.

"I'm not saying she did, but I know it's a lot harder to get pregnant without having sex," Puck told Finn. "Oh, and by the way, you missed some big news yesterday. We're screwed at Regionals."

"What do you mean?" Finn asked.

"We're competing against Vocal Adrenaline and Rachel's new school," Puck told Finn. "With her on the other side, we've got last place in the bag."

Rachel. Finn wished that he was with Rachel now. She would have let him have a say in all of this. He wanted to sing WITH her at Regionals! Not against her.

Puck had gotten him thinking though. Was that baby his? They never had sex... No. It was his. Quinn wouldn't cheat on him. Right?

x

"Okay girls, we have your competition for Regionals," Rachel's show choir director, Mrs. White, said.

The girls cheered as Rachel hoped New Directions wouldn't be on the list. Competing against them would be more than awkward. "We'll be facing the defending National Champions, Vocal Adrenaline... and we're competing against a new choir from a school in Lima called the New Directions."

Oh no. One of the girls turned to Rachel. "Isn't that your old school?"

"Yeah," Rachel said.

"Rachel, are you okay with this?" Mrs. White asked. "If you don't want to compete against your old friends, we'll let you sit this one out."

Friends? She was sure Quinn and Santana wanted her in a jar. "It's fine."

"Okay then," Mrs. White said. "Tryouts for solos will be tomorrow."

Then thoughts came to Rachel's mind. She knew Finn would be heavily featured in the New Directions numbers. She didn't want to try out for a solo if that meant she and Finn would be facing off against each other. At the end of practice, Rachel, Jessica and Zoey went to meet up with Sasha, Natalie and Lauren for lunch. "We're competing against Rachel's old school at Regionals," Zoey said.

"Do you think that the choir here will beat them?" Lauren asked Rachel.

Rachel didn't know if she liked this. "I'm not sure." For one thing, the choir here was a lot bigger and it was a class rather than an after school activity.

"I'm just glad we're going this year," Jessica said. "Last year the Dalton boys beat us at Sectionals."

"Yeah, didn't that Vocal Adrenaline beat them at their Sectionals?" Natalie asked.

"Yeah," Zoey said.

"Are you sure you're okay with competing against your old school?" Sasha asked Rachel.

"Yeah, I'm fine with it," Rachel said. "There's really only one person I care about on that team." Uh oh. She'd let it out. She'd promised herself not to talk about Finn here, but she'd let it out.

"It's a boy, isn't it?" Sasha asked. Already, these girls knew her too well.

"Yeah," Rachel said. "His name is Finn, he's really nice."

"You're blushing!" Jessica said. "You like him, don't you?"

"Yeah, but he's with someone," Rachel said. She didn't want to tell her friends about Quinn's pregnancy. No girl here would get pregnant in high school. This school already was so much different from McKinley. The building itself was almost like a castle and had a fountain in the lobby. There were three times as many AP classes and multiple girls got perfect SAT and ACT scores and went to Ivy League schools every year. The school had a horseback riding stable (some horses of which the girls brought themselves), recreation center, Olympic pool and Olympic ice rink and practically every sports team imaginable. The sports teams were nationally ranked and the band and choir had performed for all sorts of famous people. Rachel had gotten an academic scholarship and thought her family was pretty well off, but over the weekend she'd been to Sasha's house, and it was about twice as big as her house. Other girls here were daughters of CEOs.

"Don't worry, Rachel," Zoey said. "Once you meet the Dalton boys you won't worry about Finn."

"I bet Rachel would like Blaine," Lauren said.

"Who's Blaine?" Rachel asked.

"He's the lead singer of the Dalton Warblers," Natalie said. "He's a great singer."

"Do you guys have boyfriends?" Rachel asked, trying to keep the focus off her. She didn't want A boyfriend. She wanted Finn.

"Yeah," Sasha said. "His name is Johnny, he's a junior at Dalton and the president of the Dalton-Crawford High School Democratic club."

"You would date a guy like that," Rachel giggled. Sasha was extremely politically active, and when Rachel had gone to her house, she'd been impressed by her friend's collection of political memorabilia and photo with every major Democratic politician imaginable.

"The rest of us don't," Zoey said.

"That's cool," Rachel said.

"Oh, and speaking of your old high school, we actually have a swim meet there next weekend," Jessica said.

"Oh wow," Rachel said. She felt like she should go to support her friends - but it would be odd to be back at McKinley.

"That's great!" Natalie said. Rachel nervously smiled at her friends, hoping that things would go okay.

x

"And here's the photo from the newspaper from when we won Sectionals," Rachel said, pointing to the photo on the bulletin board in the main hallway at McKinley before her friends' swim meet. Her eyes fell on Finn, who had his arm around her. Maybe she'd run into him? There was a basketball game tonight.

"Oh, look who's here!" Rachel turned and saw Quinn, standing with Kurt, Mercedes, Santana and Brittany, all in their cheerios uniforms. Since when were Kurt and Mercedes cheerios?

"Hi," Rachel said. She figured the best policy was to keep things cool right now.

"Hey RuPaul," Quinn said.

"Are these some of the rich white girls from that preppy private school you go to now?" Santana asked.

"Wow, you guys are bitches," Lauren said.

"Yeah, Rachel's too nice to have ever done anything to you," Sasha added.

"You'd think that school of yours would teach you how to recognize a pregnant girl," Quinn said. "Rachel tried to steal the guy I'm having a baby with!"

The swim coach came into the hall. "Girls, we need to start warming up."

"It's a good thing you left this school," Natalie whispered to Rachel as the swimmers went to the pool deck to join their team. Rachel went to the stands. Luckily most of the kids on the swim team at McKinley she'd met were relatively nice, so she didn't think she'd have to worry about anyone throwing slushies at her.

"Hey." Rachel looked next to her, where a boy in a Dalton shirt was. "You're Rachel Berry, right?"

"Yeah," Rachel said. This boy was cute. He had bushy eyebrows and black hair with a lot of hair gel gluing it to his head.

"I heard you've got a good voice," the boy said. "I'm Blaine Anderson, I'm a freshman at Dalton. I'm the lead of the Warblers."

"Nice to meet you," Rachel said. So this was the boy her friends had told her about. "So, here to see some of your friends compete, too?" Since Dalton and Crawford were single gender schools, they combined for sports that had coed teams at other schools.

"Yeah," Blaine said. "Who are your friends on the swim team?"

"Sasha Klons, Jessica Ulps, Natalie Lawrence, Lauren Mann and Zoey Williams," Rachel said. "Know them?"

"Oh yeah," Blaine said. "They're sophomores, aren't they? I think I've met them at mixers."

"Yeah, I'm a sophomore too," Rachel said. "Jessica and Zoey are in the show choir, and Natalie and Lauren are in the orchestra, so you might have met them."

"Yeah," Blaine said. "I heard you transferred from here at McKinley."

News must have traveled fast. "Yeah, it wasn't the right school for me."

"That's fine," Blaine said. "Are you happy now?"

"Yeah," Rachel said. She had friends, but she was still getting adjusted. At McKinley she'd been one of the top students, but her classes were much harder here. Sasha was the top student in their grade, with Lauren the second top.

"I got bullied at my old school," Blaine admitted.

"You know, that's why I left McKinley," Rachel said. "People would throw slushies at me."

"Seriously?" Blaine asked. "That's so stupid!"

"I know, right?" Rachel asked.

x

Dalton and Crawford ended up beating McKinley in the swim meet and Rachel had enjoyed her time with Blaine. After the swim meet, Rachel's friends had changed into their sweats, and the girls were in line at the concession stands for snacks when Rachel heard a familiar voice. "Rachel?"

Rachel turned around by who she saw. "Finn?"

"Uh, hi," Finn said. "What are you doing here?"

"My friends were swimming against McKinley, so I came to watch," Rachel said. "So how was your basketball game?"

"We lost," Finn said. He looked behind Rachel. "So, you've made some friends?"

"Yeah," Rachel said. "This is Sasha, and Lauren, and Natalie, and Zoey, and Jessica."

"Nice to meet you guys," Finn said. He looked a little awkward. "Well, gotta go."

"So that's him?" Jessica asked when Finn left.

"Yeah," Rachel said.

"He's cute," Natalie said. "And he seems nice."

"Yes and yes," Rachel said.

"Why's he with that mean girl then?" Zoey asked.

"He doesn't seem like the type who'd get a girl pregnant," Lauren added.

Rachel was just glad her friends weren't judging Finn for the pregnancy. But then she realized - Finn wasn't the type to get a girl pregnant. She just knew he was the type to always use protection...

She shouldn't be thinking this way. Type or not, Quinn was having Finn's baby. Maybe there would be hope for Finn and Rachel if they gave up the baby, but for now there wasn't. Plus, Rachel was at another school now, and they were living totally different lives...

"You okay, Rachel?" Sasha asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Rachel said. As the girls left, Rachel caught a glance at Finn in the gym. She felt safer, more respected and more prepared at Crawford, but she definitely missed him.

_Chapter 5 preview: Someone from New Directions apologizes to Rachel for Quinn and Santana's behavior when she was at McKinley and Rachel begins to form a friendship with that person. New Directions finds a twelfth member. More issues for Finn, Quinn and Puck. _

_10 reviews unlock Chapter 6!_


	5. Chapter 5: Needing Space?

_First, thanks so much for all the reviews on Chapter 4. I really enjoyed them and you all had such nice things to say. Trust me, I don't particularly like writing Fuinn, and there will be Finchel eventually, but it will take time for the truth to come out. I did get to write some Finchel in this chapter and some Quick and Hummelberry, all of which I really like :) Hope you guys like it and review if you want me to keep writing!_

Chapter 5: Needing Space?

Rachel was in her room, working on homework when the phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and tried to hold in her excitement. "Hey Finn!"

"Hey Rach," Finn said. "How are you?"

Now, she was great! "I'm good, how are you?" Rachel asked. She definitely didn't get to talk to Finn as much now that she was at a new school.

"I'm fine," Finn said. "Quinn moved out of my house."

"She did?" Rachel asked, trying to contain her excitement. Did that mean Finn and Quinn had broken up? But what about the baby?

"Yeah," Finn said. "She told me she thought she needed some space. She's living at Santana's house now."

"But what about the baby?" Rachel asked. Wouldn't Quinn want to be close to Finn in case anything happened, in case she went into labor? Quinn moving out of Finn's house, as much as Rachel liked it, seemed pretty weird. What if they decided to keep the baby? Where would the baby live?

"There's no what about the baby," Finn said. "Quinn doesn't want to keep it. We've been meeting with prospective adoptive families, so at least I have some input."

"Well, that's a good thing," Rachel said. She sighed and finally decided to admit it. "I really miss you, Finn."

"I miss you too," Finn said. "From the brief moment I met your friends from Crawford, they seem really nice."

"They are," Rachel said.

"You deserve some friends who like you for you, not just for your talent," Finn told Rachel. "I know I was the only one at McKinley who really was your friend."

"That's why I miss you," Rachel said. "No matter how bad things got, I had you." She gulped. Crawford's Winter Formal was coming up in about two weeks. She really wanted to ask Finn, but what would Quinn think?

"I should probably get to glee practice," Finn said. "I just wanted to call and see how you were."

"You know you can do that any time," Rachel said. "Bye Finn."

"Bye Rach," Finn said as he hung up the phone.

x

Finn missed Rachel so much, but he knew there was probably no point in it. There was no way she'd leave Crawford and come back to McKinley. She had friends there, the academic offerings were much better and the school didn't put up with meanness and bullying. Why would Rachel leave a school with so much going for it for a place where no one was nice to her and everyone was basically under control of Sue Sylvester?

Finn got in his mom's car and drove to the adoption agency headquarters. Today, he and Quinn were going to meet with another prospective adoptive family. Well, this was just a single woman, but she was interested in adoption. By the time Finn arrived, Quinn was already there, and so was a woman who looked a lot like Rachel.

"Hi," the woman said when Finn arrived. She turned to Quinn. "Is this the father of the baby?"

"This is my boyfriend, Finn," Quinn said. "Finn, this is Shelby Corcoran."

Finn shook the woman's hand. "Nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too, Finn," Shelby said. "Quinn was telling me you two are in glee club at your school. I actually coach a glee club."

"Really?" Finn asked. "Which one?"

"Vocal Adrenaline," Shelby said. "But I realized I need some balance in my life. Sixteen years ago, I was a surrogate for a gay couple, but I haven't seen that baby since she was born, and I don't know her name or where she is. I miss her every day and I really want to be able to have a family."

So many thoughts were going through Finn's head right now. Was Quinn ashamed that he was the father of the baby? Quinn didn't introduce him as the father, she introduced him as her boyfriend. She'd been spending more and more time with Puck rather than with him lately. And this woman's story sounded eerily familiar. Could she be Rachel's long lost birth mother?

Finn had to focus on what was going on now, but these questions weren't going away.

x

Later that night, Rachel was still at work on her homework when her phone rang again. She didn't recognize this number, but she decided to answer it anyway. "Hello?"

"Rachel, it's Kurt," the voice on the other end said.

This was a surprise. Rachel thought Kurt didn't like her very much. She didn't remember giving him her number. "Oh, hi Kurt."

"I'm sure you're wondering how I got your number, I got it from Finn," Kurt said. "I wanted to apologize for how Quinn and Santana acted the other day. I should have told them to stop."

"Thank you Kurt," Rachel said. She had to admit, she didn't expect Kurt to apologize. Was this just a plot to get her back?

"They shouldn't have been rude to your friends either," Kurt said.

"Yeah, it's nice to finally have friends," Rachel said.

"I'm glad you have friends," Kurt said.

Thinking about it, Kurt had never really been mean to Rachel, except when he purposely tried to make her look a way that would turn Finn off. "Yeah, they're nice. Since when are you a cheerio?"

"Coach Sylvester thought it would be cool to have singing as part of the cheerleading routines, so she recruited Mercedes and me," Kurt said.

"Oh," Rachel said. "So, how's preparation for Regionals going?"

"It's going fine," Kurt said. "Finn's solo sounds pretty good, and so do the group numbers. Are you doing a solo for your group?"

"I'm not actually," Rachel said. "I just didn't think it would be fair for the new girl to take solos from the girls who won Sectionals."

"That's not very Rachel Berry," Kurt said.

Rachel thought for a minute. "I think part of the reason why people were so mean to me at McKinley was I was so sure of myself and my talent. I want people to like me. I want to have friends. I want to have fond memories of high school."

"How come you never showed us this side of you while you were at McKinley?" Kurt asked.

"I don't know," Rachel admitted. She didn't want to say much else about McKinley. "So, how's the baby drama?"

"It's baby drama," Kurt said. "Finn and Quinn are always arguing about it, and Puck's always butting in. It shouldn't be much longer, maybe a month or two."

"I heard Quinn moved out of Finn's house," Rachel said. Maybe Kurt would tell her what happened? She had a feeling Finn hadn't told her the whole story.

"Yeah, she's living with Santana now," Kurt said. "They think they need some space between them, apparently. I'm honestly surprised they're still together."

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.

"Well, she seems to turn to Puck a lot more for things than for Finn," Kurt said. "They're always arguing, not just about the baby, but about simple things. I bet they're just together because of the baby."

"Maybe," Rachel said. Finn had multiple opportunities to leave Quinn for her, but she knew that it probably wouldn't happen unless the baby was handed to an adoptive family. Anyway, her friends were always telling her that the Dalton boys were nice. She'd liked Blaine... "Kurt, thanks so much for calling me. I wouldn't have expected this when we were competing for solos, but I really liked talking to you."

"You too," Kurt said. "Now that you have my number, you can call me anytime."

Rachel smiled as she hung up the phone.

x

Regionals were a few weeks away, and Finn was getting more and more nervous. Without Rachel, he knew their chances of winning were very slim. Crawford had Rachel, and Vocal Adrenaline was just Vocal Adrenaline. He'd been working on his solo day and night, trying to get it as good as he could, but he doubted it would be good as anything Rachel or Vocal Adrenaline did.

Of course, unless they found a twelfth member, they wouldn't be going at all. He did feel bad for not trying harder to recruit anyone, but he'd been so preoccupied lately with his solo, basketball, the baby issues and missing Rachel. In the boys' bathroom, he made a mental note to try to ask around in his classes this afternoon when he heard a boy singing along with his iPod down the stalls. He had to admit - this boy had a good voice, whoever he was. When the boy stopped singing, Finn picked up with singing the song. The boy joined him at the sink. Finn hadn't seen him before. He looked a little younger than Finn - maybe he was a freshman? He had blond hair and a big mouth.

"You couldn't resist joining in?" the boy asked.

"Sorry, that's one of my favorite songs," Finn said.

"It's cool," the boy said. "It's my first day here, so I'm just glad to have something in common with someone here."

A new student? Perfect! This boy wouldn't know about how the glee club was looked down on. "I'm Finn Hudson," Finn said. "I'm a sophomore."

"I'm Sam Evans, I'm a freshman," the boy said. "My family just moved here from Tennessee."

"That's cool," Finn said. "How do you like McKinley so far?"

"It's bigger than my old school," Sam said.

"Hey, you're a really good singer," Finn said. "I'm in the glee club and I have a meeting after school, so you should come. We're looking for new members."

"It would be nice to meet some people," Sam said. "Right after school?"

"Yup," Finn said. "The choir room's next to the band room, down the hall from the cafeteria."

"Okay, see you then," Sam said.

"Great!" Finn said. He walked away, feeling better. He'd recruited a twelfth member. And Sam seemed nice. They could go to Regionals. He just hoped that they wouldn't be last.

x

"You have to tell him sooner or later," Finn heard Puck's voice say. He looked in the gym and saw Puck in his basketball uniform, talking to Quinn.

"I can't," Finn heard Quinn say. He walked in. What was going on here?

"Hey Finn," Puck said. "Thanks for getting a twelfth member for us."

"No problem," Finn said.

"I hope you don't mind if I go to Puck's this afternoon," Quinn said.

She was going to Puck's again? "Quinn, are you ashamed of me?" Finn asked.

"What do you mean?" Quinn asked.

"I'm your boyfriend," Finn said. "Yet you spend more and more time with Puck and less and less with me."

"Oh, talk about the pot calling the kettle black," Quinn said back. "Puck and I are just friends. You know and I know and Puck knows and everyone here knows that if it wasn't for the baby, you'd dump me and go to Rachel."

"I barely see her anymore!" Finn protested. Still, he had to hold it in. Quinn knew he was into Rachel! Did she know what happened with them?

"Look, I don't have time for this," Quinn said. "Finn, sometime this weekend, we should sit down and talk about which family would be best for the baby." She left the room, leaving Finn and Puck there alone.

Puck looked at Finn. "Seriously dude, I know you're into Rachel, but Quinn's having your baby," Puck said. "Any guy would love to be in your position, and she chose you."

Finn knew Quinn and Puck had been talking about him. He just knew it. There had to be something going on that he didn't know about.

_Chapter 6 preview: With the dance at her school approaching, Rachel struggles with deciding whether not to ask Finn. Things happen between Finn and Rachel and between Puck and Quinn. Kurt and Blaine also meet._

_10 reviews unlock Chapter 7!_


	6. Chapter 6: Winter Formal

_Hey! I am SO SORRY I took so long to update. I've been really busy with work (this is our busiest time of year) and with the holiday season. I'm not going anywhere though! Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and review if you think I should keep writing!_

Chapter 6: Winter Formal

Rachel gulped and dialed Finn's number. There was no harm in asking, right? Finn picked up after the first ring. "Hey Rachel!"

"Hey Finn!" Rachel said. "How are you?"

"Fine," Finn said. "We're doing a Madonna week in glee club."

"Oh, I love her music," Rachel said. She felt bad she wasn't in Glee club with Finn right now. She could think of several Madonna songs that would make good duets for the two of them.

"It makes me think of you," Finn said.

Rachel smiled to herself. "So, I was wondering, on Saturday my school's having a dance, and I was wondering if you'd like to come with me?"

"You're asking me to the dance?" Finn asked. Rachel was turned on by how interested he sounded.

"Yeah," Rachel said.

"Wow, Rach, I feel so honored," Finn said. "But I don't know if I can."

Rachel's heart sank. "What do you mean?"

"What about Quinn?" Finn asked.

Rachel didn't know why Finn was concerned about Quinn when they both knw she had no concern for him. "Finn, I really want to go to the dance with you."

"I want to go with you too, but what would Quinn think?" Finn asked.

"Tell her we're just going as friends," Rachel said. Which was true. Other than Sasha, who was naturally going with Johnny, none of her friends were bringing romantic dates to the dance. Jessica was taking a boy from the Dalton swim team, Natalie was going with a boy from Dalton's orchestra, Lauren was bringing one of her neighbors and Zoey was taking one of the members of Dalton's glee club.

"I'll think about it," Finn said. "I really want to go with you."

"I really want you to come too," Rachel said.

x

Finn hung up the phone with Rachel. He wanted to go to this dance with her so badly, but he knew Quinn wouldn't want him to go. He and Quinn were having a baby together, that was true, but the only way that baby really was theirs was that it was his sperm and her egg. They were giving the baby up for adoption, right now, they were leaning toward giving the baby to Shelby Corcoran. As bad as Finn felt about giving up his first child, he knew right now wasn't the right time to have a child. He still had his whole life ahead of him, school, college, a career... he wanted to wait until he was married with a solid income to have children. And he was sure he didn't see himself married to Quinn.

Finn's thoughts were interrupted by a noise he heard downstairs. He heard some laughing and some talking. One of the voices he heard was Quinn's... and he thought the other one was Puck's.

He went downstairs and sure enough, there were Quinn and Puck in the living room, playing on Finn's xbox.

"You're pretty good at this," Puck said to Quinn.

"Not as good as you!" Quinn said.

"Hey," Finn said as his girlfriend and his best friend turned to face him. What was going on here?

"We were just having some fun on your xbox," Quinn said.

"Yeah, you don't mind if we play on it, right?" Puck askd.

"That's fine," Finn said. "So, why didn't you tell me you were coming over, Puck?"

"She answered the door," Puck said. "You were on the phone upstairs, so we hung out while we were waiting for you."

"Okay," Finn said. This wasn't the first time Puck and Quinn had done something together, so maybe getting Quinn to let him go to the dance with Rachel wouldn't be as hard as he dreaded. "Hey Quinn, Rachel called earlier."

"Her again?" Quinn asked. "I would have thought she'd fall in love with one of the boys at her school's brother school by now."

"Nope," Finn said. "She asked me to a dance at her school."

"And you said no, right?" Quinn asked.

"I told her I'd ask you if I can go," Finn said.

"No, Finn," Quinn said. "That's cheating."

So Quinn could hang out with Puck all the time, but he couldn't hang out with Rachel? "Well, it's no different from you doing things with Puck!"

"He has a point," Puck said. "I'm sure Rachel just asked Finn to go as a friend, right Finn?"

"Yeah," Finn said.

"Puck doesn't take me to dances!" Quinn protested.

"It's just a friends thing," Finn said. "We'd be going with a group of her friends from Crawford and their dates. And only one of them is bringing a romantic date, the others are just bringing male friends, too."

"My answer is still no!" Quinn protested.

Finn looked at Puck for help. What was he supposed to say? "Rachel's my friend, and I really miss spending time with her."

"You wouldn't kiss her or sleep together or anything, right?" Puck asked Finn.

"Of course not," Finn said. He wanted to, but he couldn't. Now he felt like a bad person.

"Fine, Finn, but don't spend any one-on-one time with her," Quinn said. "Make it clear. Meet up at one of her friends' houses so her friends can supervise."

"I promise nothing serious will happen," Finn said. He resisted the urge to hug both Puck and Quinn. He was so excited.

x

"So he's still with her?" Sasha asked over skype.

"Yeah," Rachel said. "The thing is..." She wasn't sure if she should say this out loud. "I'm not even sure if he is the father of the baby." There was no harm in saying that to Sasha, right? She didn't know anyone at McKinley, she lived in a different city altogether.

"What do you mean?" Sasha asked.

"He told me she's spending more and more time with another boy," Rachel said. "And I've been talking with one of the other people in New Directions and he said the same thing." Ever since Kurt apologized, Rachel and Kurt had been calling and texting more. For Madonna week, Puck and Quinn had apparently performed "Justify My Love" together.

"From everything you've told me about Finn, he sounds like the type who'd be very careful if he did have sex," Sasha said.

"Yeah, and this other boy has a reputation as the guy who sleeps with everyone at the school," Rachel said.

"Is it the one you dated for a week?" Sasha asked.

"Yeah," Rachel said. Then she noticed her phone was ringing. "Oh, it's Finn."

"Maybe he's calling to say he'll go to the dance with you!" Sasha said.

"I hope so," Rachel said.

"Well, answer it!" Sasha said.

"Okay, bye Sasha," Rachel said.

"Bye Rachel," Sasha said before logging off skype.

Rachel smiled and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey Rach, it's Finn," Finn said. "So, what time should I be there on Saturday?"

"You think you can come to the dance with me?" Rachel said. She could barely hold in her excitement.

"Yes," Finn said. "I got permission."

Rachel felt so happy she barely knew what to say. "Maybe be at my house at five?"

"That's sounds great!" Finn said. "Oh, and Rach?"

"Yeah?" Rachel asked.

"I have a song for Madonna week I'd really like to sing with you. Maybe before the dance we could sing it and tape it?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, of course," Rachel said. She couldn't believe her good luck. She and Finn were going to the dance together.

x

"So, I heard you're taking Finn to a dance at your school," Kurt said. It was the next day, and Rachel was going to the Lima Bean for some coffee after school. Kurt had just started working as a barista at the Lima Bean and was serving Rachel.

"Yeah," Rachel said.

"He's really excited," Kurt said. "I don't think Quinn knows how excited he is, which is probably a good thing."

"Yeah, that is a good thing," Rachel agreed. "So he told you?"

"Well, now that our parents are dating, we see each other a lot more," Kurt said.

"Your dad's dating Finn's mom?" Rachel asked. Finn hadn't told her that.

"Yeah," Kurt said. "It's been a couple weeks now."

"Wow," Rachel said. Then she heard a voice. "Hi Rachel!"

Rachel turned and saw Blaine. "Hi Blaine!"

"So, are you going to Crawford's dance on Saturday?" Blaine asked.

"Yeah," Rachel said. "I'm taking a good friend of mine from my old school."

"That's nice," Blaine said. He looked at Kurt and smiled. "Is this him?"

"No," Rachel said. "He is a friend of mine from McKinley though. Kurt, this is Blaine, he goes to my school's brother school. Blaine, this is Kurt."

"Nice to meet you," Blaine said to Kurt.

"Nice to meet you too," Kurt said. "So, are you in the Warblers?"

"Yeah," Blaine told Kurt. "You're in New Directions?"

"I am," Kurt said. "Guess you're hoping Crawford will beat us at Regionals."

"Well, if we were there we'd beat you guys for sure!" Blaine said. "Good to see you, Rach. Nice to meet you, Kurt."

"You too," Kurt said as Blaine left. Then Kurt turned to Rachel. "Wow, he's cute!"

"He is," Rachel agreed. "He's really nice, too."

x

Rachel looked at herself in the mirror. For the first time in her life, she was going to a school dance. Not only was she going to a school dance, she was going with Finn. Her friends had helped her pick out her dress earlier that week, and she hoped Finn would like it.

"Rachel, Finn's here," Rachel heard her dads call.

Rachel barely held in her excitement. She went downstairs and saw Finn standing there in a suit and tie. "Wow, you look so handsome," Rachel said.

"You look beautiful," Finn said.

"Thanks," Rachel said.

"Let me take your picture!" Hiram said.

"We can't," Finn said.

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.

"Part of how I got Quinn to agree to this was if I wasn't alone with Rachel at her house," Finn said, looking disappointed.

"Oh," Hiram said. "Well Rachel, bring the camera to Sasha's house so you can take pictures there."

"Oh, I will," Rachel said. She smiled at Finn. "Ready?"

"Yeah," Finn said. They got in Finn's car and drove to Sasha's house. When they got there, Finn looked out the window. "Your friend must be pretty rich."

"Yeah, but she isn't snobby about it," Rachel said. Most of the girls at Crawford were pretty rich. She knew all five of her friends had a lot more money than her family did. At least they didn't make her feel bad about it though. Unlike at McKinley, where people made her feel bad about the smallest things.

Rachel and Finn went into the house, where Sasha, Jessica, Natalie, Lauren and Zoey already were with their dates. "Good, you guys are here!" Natalie said.

"Hi," Rachel said. "Everyone, this is Finn."

"I remember we met you when we had the swim meet at McKinley," Zoey said.

"Yeah," Finn said. "It's nice to meet you guys again."

"Nice to meet you," Zoey's date, Thad, said. "You're in the New Directions, right?"

"Yeah, I'm the lead," Finn said.

"I thought I recognized you," Thad said. "I'm in the Warblers.

"Are you guys ready for our girls to beat you at Regionals?" Natalie's date, Stephen, asked.

"No, we're going to beat them!" Finn said.

Sasha's parents took photos of the group and of each pair for the dance. When Rachel had her picture taken with Finn, she hoped that this would just be the first of many dances she'd have her picture taken with Finn at. She got close to him and loved the feeling of his arms around her.

Before the group left for dinner and the dance, Finn asked one of Rachel's friends to tape him and Rachel singing the mashup he'd put together for them to sing together for Madonna week. Rachel had seen the mashup and was pretty impressed, and as they sang together, she remembered how much she and Finn loved singing together.

_Rachel: Something in the way you loved me won't let me be  
I don't want to be your prisoner so baby won't you set me free  
Stop playin' with my heart  
Finish what you start  
When you make my love come down  
If you want me let me know  
Baby, let it show  
Honey, don't you fool around  
Finn: Don't try to resist me  
Open your heart to me, baby  
I'll hold the lock and you hold the key  
Rachel and Finn: Open your heart to me, darlin'  
I'll give you love if you  
Finn: You turn the key  
Rachel and Finn: Something in your eyes is makin' such a fool of me (Finn: You're making me, you're making such a fool of me)  
I see you on the street and you walk on by (Finn: You're on the street I see when you're walking by)  
When you hold me in your arms  
You love me till I just can't see (Finn: Ohh, Woah)  
So you choose to look the other way  
Well I've got something to say...  
Open your heart to me, baby  
I'll hold the lock and you hold the key  
Open your heart to me, darlin'  
I'll give you love if you, you turn the key (Finn: Open your heart I'll make you love me)  
I'll hold the lock and you hold the key  
Open your heart to me, darlin'  
I'll give you love if you, you turn the key (Finn: Ohh ohh ohh)  
Open your heart with the key_

At the end of the song, Finn and Rachel were staring at each other. The feeling they got whenever they sang together was definitely back.

"That was really good," Lauren said. "I would have thought you two were actually a couple."

"Yeah," Lauren's date, Jason, agreed.

"If you were at Dalton, we would have gone to Regionals for sure," said Jessica's date, Jack.

"Well, we'll see what happens at Regionals!" Finn said.

All this talk about Regionals was making Rachel nervous. It was just around the corner, and she or Finn were likely going to end up disappointed. One of them was going to beat the other.

"Let's get to dinner!" Johnny said.

x

After dinner, the group headed to Crawford for the dance. The dance was held in the school gym, which was decorated with blue and white lights, streamers and balloons. At this point, a slow dance song was playing. Rachel's friends were all slow dancing with their dates, leaving Rachel and Finn to slow dance. While they had danced together for glee club numbers, Rachel and Finn had never slow danced together before. Rachel definitely liked it though.

"Are you having fun?" Rachel asked.

"This is the best dance I've ever been to," Finn said.

It was the first one Rachel had ever been to, but she knew Finn had been to a few. And this was the best? "I'm glad," Rachel said.

"I've really missed you," Finn said.

"I miss you too," Rachel said as she leaned against Finn. "It's so nice to get to do this together."

"I know," Rachel said. She loved the feeling of leaning up against Finn. She loved how his arms felt around her. As the song got to a chorus, she and Finn looked up into each other's eyes. Rachel felt an urge, but she tried to hold back.

Little did she know, Finn was feeling that same urge. As the next verse of the song began, both Finn and Rachel leaned toward each other and kissed. It felt amazing.

Quickly though, they pulled apart. They knew they shouldn't have done that. They were here as friends, not as boyfriend and girlfriend. He had a different girlfriend altogether.

What if someone had seen them kiss? As far as Rachel knew, no one at Crawford knew Quinn, but another girl here could have taken another boy who knew her. Sasha, Jessica, Natalie, Lauren and Zoey were all aware of what was happening between Quinn, Finn and Rachel and Rachel had asked them to explain the situation to their dates, but again, she had no idea who else was here.

"Want to go get a snack?" Finn asked.

"Yeah," Rachel said. Maybe a break from dancing would take the temptation away. Though she wanted to kiss him again so badly.

_Chapter 7 previews: Regionals is approaching and Finn and Rachel will be facing each other off. But will anyone find out that Finn and Rachel kissed at the dance?_

_10 reviews unlock Chapter 7!_


	7. Chapter 7: Regionals

_Hey everyone! Thanks so much for the reviews on Chapter 6, they mean a lot to me. I did make a continuity error - I referenced Quinn living at Finn's, though she has already moved out at this point. My apologies for the mistake. Anyway, I hope you guys like this chapter. I know Puck sang Finn's solo on the show, but it was one of my dream Finn solos._

_Anyway, hope everyone had a great Christmas! Hope you guys enjoy and review if you want me to keep going!_

Chapter 7: Regionals

As the Crawford glee club arrived at the theatre for Regionals, Rachel took a glance into the other rooms, hoping to see Finn. She wanted to wish him luck. She was really hoping for a tie so she and Finn could both go to Nationals, but she knew Vocal Adrenaline would most likely win.

Ever since she and Finn kissed at the dance, they hadn't seen each other. They texted and talked on the phone, but they didn't get together. Rachel didn't know if Quinn knew that they'd kissed at the dance. She certainly hoped Quinn didn't know. It would make a complicated situation even more complicated.

"Hey Rachel!" Rachel turned and saw Kurt.

"Hey Kurt," Rachel said. "Ready for Regionals?"

"Yeah," Kurt said. "I have some solo lines in both the group numbers."

"That's great," Rachel said.

"I think Finn's nervous about his big solo though," Kurt said.

"Awwww," Rachel said. "I'm sure he'll sound amazing."

"I like your costumes," Kurt said. The Crawford girls were wearing black dresses with royal blue skirts.

"I'm guessing your girls are wearing gold?" Rachel asked, noticing Kurt was wearing a black suit with a gold tie.

"Yeah," Kurt said. "Well, good luck, Rachel - but not too good."

Rachel giggled. "You too!" She followed the rest of the girls into their dressing room and went to sit with Jessica, Natalie, Lauren and Zoey. Since Sasha was in neither the orchestra nor the choir (the orchestra would be providing the music), she was in the audience.

"You nervous?" Jessica asked Rachel.

"Not really," Rachel said. "I've done this before. Plus since I don't have any solos, it's not as nerve-wracking."

"Yeah, I bet," Natalie said.

"Hi Rachel," a familiar voice said. Rachel turned and saw Finn and Quinn. What was Quinn doing here? She didn't even like Rachel! As Quinn came in, several of the other girls on Rachel's team exchanged looks. It wasn't too hard to figure out what was going on with Quinn.

"Hey Finn," Rachel said. "Hey Quinn."

"Just wanted to come to say good luck," Finn said. "I'm sure you guys will be amazing."

Rachel smiled to herself. Finn was so sweet. "Thanks so much. I heard your solo sounds really good."

"I'm nervous about singing a solo," Finn admitted. "I've done it before, but I have to do the whole song by myself in front of lots of people..."

"Mr. Schue wouldn't have given you the solo if he didn't think you could do it," Rachel said. "Finn, you're the most talented person there. You're going to sound amazing." Was it bad that she wanted him to win a little more than she wanted her own team to win?

"You think so?" Finn asked.

"You won't be completely by yourself," Quinn said. "The other boys will be backing you up at times."

"How's the baby?" Rachel asked Quinn, trying to be friendly.

"It's only going to be a few more weeks," Quinn said. "I'm ready for this to be over."

"Yeah, I bet it's really uncomfortable," Rachel said.

"It is," Quinn said.

"Don't worry, it'll all be over soon," Rachel said. She turned to Finn, not knowing what to say. She hoped Finn and Quinn would break up after the baby was born, but she didn't know...

"Hey Rachel, this is your boyfriend?" Haley, one of the freshmen, asked, coming up to Finn, Rachel and Quinn.

Uh oh. Things had just been going well. She and Finn had been having a nice chat, and for the first time, she and Quinn were actually getting along. "No, he's my boyfriend," Quinn said.

"Then why were he and Rachel kissing at our winter formal?" Haley asked.

Oh no. People had seen them kiss. Finn and Rachel hadn't even mentioned the kiss to each other, though neither of them had forgotten it. This was bad. Quinn looked angry and shocked. "You two kissed?"

Rachel couldn't say anything. Neither could Finn. Rachel nervously looked at Jessica, Natalie, Lauren and Zoey, not knowing what to do.

"You aren't denying it," Quinn said. She gave both Finn and Rachel angry looks. "I want to hear the truth. I want to hear it from both of you. Did you kiss at the dance at Rachel's school?" She kept shifting her glares from Finn to Rachel.

Finn nodded nervously.

Rachel gulped. "Yes. We kissed. It just... happened."

Quinn jumped up and slapped Finn across the face as the band director, Mrs. Heinz, came over. "What's going on here?"

"Nothing, we were leaving," Quinn said as she dragged Finn out of the room, giving Rachel an angry look over her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Rachel," Haley said.

"It's fine," Rachel said. "Maybe it's for the better that she knows..."

Mrs. White came over. "Rachel, was that one of the girls from your old school?"

"Yeah," Rachel said.

"She shouldn't be slapping her own boyfriend," Lauren said.

"Well, he should be Rachel's boyfriend," Jessica said.

"Guys, what Finn and I have been doing behind Quinn's back isn't right," Rachel said. "We shouldn't have kissed at the dance."

"Do you think you should still go out there today?" Mrs. White asked Rachel.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Rachel said. She felt like she should go to the McKinley room and apologize, but her presence would probably only make things worse.

x

"I can not believe you did that!" Quinn shouted as she dragged Finn down the hall. "You kissed her?"

"It's like she said, it just happened," Finn said. "We weren't trying to!"

"You don't just kiss someone, Finn," Quinn said.

What was Finn supposed to say? He had been so happy at that moment. Dancing with Rachel had been perfect. They'd had such a fun night. He'd been sidelined by how beautiful she was. If he said those things to Quinn, she'd be even more angry. "I'm sorry."

"No, you're not sorry you kissed her," Quinn snapped. "You're sorry I found out!" They went back into the dressing room, where the other ten members were waiting. "Okay, we're going to have to work extra hard to beat Rachel's glee club," Quinn shouted. "I need to get my revenge."

Everyone looked confused. "Revenge for what?" Mr. Schue asked. "What's wrong, Quinn? You look pretty upset."

Now she was about to tell everyone. Finn was even more worried. He was sure they would take her side. "Finn and Rachel kissed at some dance at Rachel's school!" Quinn said angrily.

"You kissed Rachel when Quinn's having your baby?" Puck asked Finn. "That is not cool!"

Finn decided he needed to fight back. "Oh, like you're so innocent, Puck. I know you and Quinn are doing things together, too. It's so obvious. So don't act like I'm the only one who's doing stuff. And maybe if Quinn was actually nice to me, I wouldn't have kissed Rachel!"

"I let you go to that fucking dance!" Quinn shouted.

"Quinn, can you please stop it?" Finn asked. "I feel bad enough already, please don't make me feel worse. I said I was sorry." He felt like such a horrible person now. He did feel bad - but he felt worse that he'd potentially hurt Rachel than he did about cheating on Quinn.

"You can't talk to her anymore," Quinn said.

Not talk to Rachel? No way! "You can't control who I talk to!" Finn shot back.

"Hey!" Mr. Schue shouted. "Enough is enough! Quinn, Finn apologized. Finn, you shouldn't be kissing other people when you're with someone. In case everyone forgot, we have Regionals to win."

"Yeah, and the cheater's got the solo," Puck snapped. "He gets the girl and he gets the solo."

"Puck, don't encourage this," Mr. Schue said. "Everyone, let's get to our place in the audience. Vocal Adrenaline's performing in ten minutes."

Finn tried to focus on the Vocal Adrenaline performance, but he couldn't help but looking over at Rachel with the other Crawford girls. Quinn wasn't speaking to him, but she kept giving him icy glares. Rachel looked pretty upset, and all Finn wanted to do was go over there and hug her and make her feel better. Again, he felt bad. He was supposed to want to comfort Quinn, not be afraid of her.

Most of Vocal Adrenaline's numbers were mostly a boy named Jesse St. James singing as the rest of the group danced around them. Their choreography alone would probably give them the win, even though Finn thought Jesse's voice sounded really strained.

After Vocal Adrenaline performed, it was time for the New Directions. The performance would open with Finn's solo and Finn wished more than anything that Rachel was there to wish him luck right before he performed. But Quinn didn't even want him talking to Rachel anymore. Right before Finn took the stage, he looked out into the audience. "This is for you, Rachel," he whispered. The music began, and he took a seat at his drums to play the opening notes before alternating between walking around the stage singing and playing his drums as the Glee boys occasionally backed him up. At some points, the girls came out too to dance with the boys. Finn was glad he just did the singing in this number because he knew he wasn't a very good dancer.

_Finn: Well, we busted out of class  
Had to get away from those fools  
We learned more from a 3-minute record, baby  
Than we ever learned in school  
Tonight I hear the neighborhood drummer sound  
I can feel my heart begin to pound  
You say you're tired and you just want to close your eyes  
And follow your dreams down  
Finn with New Directions boys: Well, we made a promise we swore we'd always remember  
No retreat, baby, no surrender  
Like soldiers on the winter's night  
With a vow to defend  
No retreat, baby, no surrender  
Finn: Well, now young faces grow sad and old  
And hearts of fire grow cold  
We swore blood brothers against the wind  
And I'm ready to grow young again  
And I hear your sister's voice calling us home  
Across the open yards  
Well even we can cut someplace of our own  
With these drums and these guitars  
Finn with New Directions boys: 'Cause we made a promise we swore we'd always remember  
No retreat, baby, no surrender  
Blood brothers on a summer's night  
With a vow to defend  
No retreat, baby, no surrender  
Finn: Now out on the streets tonight the lights are growing dim  
And the walls of my room are closing in  
But it's good to see your smiling face  
And to hear your voice again  
Now we can sleep in the twilight  
By the river bed  
With a wide open country in our hearts  
And these romantic dreams in our hands  
'Cause we made a promise we swore we'd always remember  
No retreat, baby, no surrender  
Blood brothers on a summer's night  
With a vow to defend  
No retreat, baby, no surrender  
No retreat, baby, no surrender_

At the end of his solo, Finn caught a glimpse of Rachel. She was on her feet cheering wildly. Finn made sure that they were looking directly at each other before he gave Rachel a big smile and a wink. In a way, this song was for Rachel - when it came to them, there would be no surrender. Rachel gave him a smile back and a thumbs up before Finn took his place for the first of the two big group numbers.

_Quinn: Picture perfect memories scattered all around the floor.  
Reaching for the phone 'cause I can't fight it anymore.  
Puck: And I wonder if I ever cross your mind?  
For me it happens all the time.  
Quinn and Puck: It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now.  
Said I wouldn't call but I've lost all control and I need you now.  
And I don't know how I can do without.  
I just need you now.  
Tina: Another shot of whiskey, can't stop looking at the door.  
Wishing you'd come sweeping in the way you did before.  
Artie: And I wonder if I ever cross your mind?  
For me it happens all the time.  
Tina and Artie: It's a quarter after one, I'm a little drunk and I need you now.  
Said I wouldn't call but I've lost all control and I need you now.  
And I don't know how I can do without.  
I just need you now.  
New Directions:  
Mercedes: Oh, whoa  
Finn: Guess I'd rather hurt than feel nothing at all.  
Kurt: It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now.  
New Directions: And I said I wouldn't call but I'm a little drunk and I need you now.  
And I don't know how I can do without.  
I just need you now  
I just need you now.  
Oh, baby, I need you now._

Finn thought they'd sounded good, but they'd sound even better with Rachel. Vocal Adrenaline's choreography had been amazing, and while Finn thought their singing was better, he wasn't sure if they would come out on top. They did have one more number, but who knew?

___Artie: Do you hear the people sing?  
Singing a song of angry men?  
It is the music of a people  
Who will not be slaves again!  
Finn: When the beating of your heart  
Echoes the beating of the drums  
There is a life about ____to start____  
When tomorrow comes!  
Kurt: Will you join in our crusade?  
Who will be strong and stand with me?  
Beyond the barricade  
Is there a world you long to see?  
Tina: Then join in the fight  
That will give you the right to be free!  
New Directions: Do you hear the people sing?  
Singing a song of angry men?  
It is the music of a people  
Who will not be slaves again!  
When the beating of your heart  
Echoes the beating of the drums  
There is a life about to start  
When tomorrow comes!  
Mercedes: Will you give all you can give  
So that our ____banner____ may advance  
Some will fall and some will live  
Will you stand up and take your chance?  
The blood of the martyrs  
Will ____water____ the meadows of France!  
New Directions: Do you hear the people sing?  
Singing a song of angry men?  
It is the music of a people  
Who will not be slaves again!  
When the beating of your heart  
Echoes the beating of the drums  
There is a life about to start  
When tomorrow comes!_

At the end of the final number, Finn tried to stick to the back of the line before they left the stage so he could wish Rachel luck before Crawford's choir performed. He managed to catch her before she went on stage and before Quinn had a chance to notice her. "Good luck!" Finn said.

"You were great," Rachel said. She gave Finn a big hug, and Finn couldn't help but return the hug. Rachel gave such good hugs.

Finn took his seat with the New Directions to watch the group from Crawford perform. Their three group numbers were good, but Finn knew if Rachel had done a solo, they would have won. A few minutes later, the three glee clubs were on the stage, waiting to hear who'd be going to Las Vegas for Nationals. Finn and Rachel stared at each other on opposite ends of the stage. He wanted to win, but he wanted her to win too... why couldn't it just be a tie?

"And the winner, heading to Sin City - Vocal Adrenaline!" Finn groaned as Jesse St. James ran to the judge and waved the first place trophy around. Then the announcer announced that New Directions was second and Crawford was third. Finn had beaten Rachel. He gave her an apologetic look, but she was already leaving the stage with her friends.

x

"I love how we almost won without Rachel," Santana said on the bus back to McKinley. "She was probably hoping she'd get a better glee club at Crawford and we beat her."

"Stop it!" Finn said.

"Guys, I know you're disappointed we lost, but we don't need to be mean about it," Mr. Schue said. "You guys sounded great and I know we'll win next year. Finn, you did a great job with the solo."

Finn smiled. "Thanks, Mr. Schue."

Quinn looked at Finn for the first time in hours. "Don't think everything's over. You're in trouble, Finnegan Christopher Hudson. Big trouble."

Finn sighed. He really didn't want to think about this right now. "What do you want me to do? I can't rewind time."

Quinn got up and went to the front of the bus with Santana and Brittany.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked Finn.

"Yeah," Finn said.

"I'm sure she'll forgive you eventually," Artie said.

x

"We got last place," Zoey grumbled. That evening, Rachel and her friends had gone out to dinner, but everyone was still pretty glum about the Regionals loss.

"I know," Jessica said. "It was a longshot but I was really hoping we'd have a shot."

"Nationals would have been so much fun," Zoey said.

"The tour for orchestra was so much fun," Lauren said. "You guys would have had the best time at Nationals."

"Maybe you shouldn't talk about it," Natalie said.

"Yeah, I am sorry, guys," Lauren said. "You were really good."

"It's not like we had a chance," Rachel sighed. "Vocal Adrenaline had professional choreography, and Finn's solo was just amazing."

"There's always next year," Jessica said. "I mean, we made Regionals this year, maybe next year we can make Nationals."

"I hope so," Rachel said. This had been a day she wasn't expecting, that was for sure. She didn't think that the truth would come out about her and Finn and she was really worried about what would happen next. Would Finn ever be willing to be with her? Had she ruined all chances?

_10 reviews unlock Chapter 8!_

_Chapter 8 preview: Finn and Rachel deal with the aftermath of kissing at the dance as Quinn's duedate approaches. Will the truth finally come out about Puck and Quinn?_

_SONGS: No Surrender by Bruce Springsteen (performed by Finn Hudson), Need You Now by Lady Antebellum (performed by New Directions) and Do You Hear The People Sing from Les Miserables (performed by New Directions_


	8. Chapter 8: Labor

_Hi! Happy New Year, everyone! Hope 2014 is less painful than 2013 was. I know this chapter isn't my best, but I'll admit I did have trouble with it. I'm sorry for the lack of Rachel, but she's going to have a big part in the next chapter. Plus I got to write Quick, which was fun! Hope you guys like this one and review if I should keep going!_

Chapter 8: Labor

"I can't believe you actually kissed her," Quinn shouted.

It was the next morning. Quinn had gone straight to Santana's last night and hadn't spoken to Finn since they got home from Regionals. He wanted to talk to Rachel, but he was afraid to. He'd been texting a lot with the other glee guys and playing video games a lot tonight. This morning, Quinn showed up on his front porch and was banging on the door.

"I'm sorry," Finn mumbled. What was the point though? He'd already apologized.

"Yesterday, your solo was for Rachel, and ONLY Rachel," Quinn snapped. "I saw the way you were looking at her when you were singing. Do I mean nothing to you? Does OUR BABY mean nothing to you?"

"Well, you made it clear to me from the beginning that our baby means nothing to you!" Finn said. "And I tried not to get attached because I know that she's only mine biologically. She's not ours in any other way."

"You know Finn, you're one of the major reasons I thought giving her away was a good option," Quinn said.

Now she was blaming him? "What did I do?" Finn asked.

"I loved you, Finn, I really loved you," Quinn said. "I don't think you loved me though. We'd been together for a few months and it felt like things weren't working between us. There was someone else."

Finn was sure Quinn was referring to Rachel, but he knew that there was something going on between Quinn and Puck. "And who is this someone else you're referring to? Puck?"

"Don't play dumb!" Quinn shouted. "You kissed that thing at the dance last month! I know you're more into her than you are to me."

"Well, I'm sorry," Finn said. Even though he was into Rachel, he did feel bad. What he was doing to Quinn wasn't right.

"You should be," Quinn said. "Finn, go get me some painkillers. The baby's been moving around a lot today."

Finn sighed. However, he owed Quinn this much. "Sure." He went to the kitchen and got some painkillers and gave them to Quinn. "There you go."

Finn and Quinn sat quietly in the living room for a few minutes, neither of them saying anything. Finn was honestly having too many emotions - anger, hurt, sadness - to say anything. Quinn's due date was coming up and the pregnancy hormones were out of control. Just about anything he said to her would probably make her angry.

Finally, Quinn spoke. "Rachel even apologized for what happened at the dance."

Finn was surprised, but at the same time, he wasn't. Rachel was a genuinely good person. He wished more than anything that she would come back, but now that she was at a school with nice facilities, a strong academic program, zero tolerance for bullying and most importantly, five close friends, he knew there was no way she would come back.

"She did?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, and she told me she wouldn't make any more moves on you," Quinn said. "Apparently there's lots of hot guys at her school's brother school."

So that was why Rachel hadn't contacted him. He held in his disappointment. Was she really backing off? Would she really prefer one of the Dalton boys over him? "Rachel apologized, and I apologized," Finn said. "What more do you want?"

"Tell you what, I'll make you a deal," Quinn said. "After the baby's born, I'll let you have sex with me. But you can't talk to her again. Ever."

Before Finn met Rachel he would have jumped at this deal. But the thought of sex with Quinn just didn't appeal to him. Look what had happened when they didn't even have sex. He didn't want to got through this again. "I can talk to whomever I want," Finn snapped. He was getting fed up. "And no, I'm not ready for sex yet."

Quinn looked like she wanted to say something, but then she grabbed her stomach and screamed.

"What's wrong?" Finn asked.

Quinn looked more scared than angry now. "Finn, my water broke."

Finn's mind began racing. His mom had gone to a conference for work two hours away and taken the car. How was he supposed to get Quinn to the hospital? "Oh, crap."

"Yeah, Santana dropped me off here before they went to the cheerleading tournament," Quinn whimpered. "It hurts, Finn."

"I'm sure it does," Finn said. Their argument was forgotten. Even if he wasn't in love with Quinn, he cared about her and he wanted her to be okay. "I'm going to call around and see if I can find someone to take us."

"Thanks," Quinn said. Finn got out his phone and called the first person he could think of, Puck. Puck had just finished cleaning a pool and was at Finn's house within ten minutes. When he arrived, Quinn finally looked a little happier. "Thank you!"

"Yeah, thanks man," Finn said.

"Anything for you two and your baby," Puck said. "Come on, we have to get to the hospital, as soon as we can. Quinn, we do need to call your parents. Finn, we should call your mom, too. And call the adoptive mother."

Finn was surprised by how Puck was taking charge, but he wasn't going to complain. "Could you just drive us to the hospital now, Puck?"

"Yeah," Puck said. "If you want, I'll make those calls."

"Thanks, Puck," Quinn said. "You're the best." Then she turned to Finn. "I hate these contractions."

"I know you do," Finn said.

"No, you don't know," Quinn said. "This is your fault!"

"I'm sorry!" Finn said. "We were both wearing bathing suits!"

"I'm not letting you in a hot tub with me again," Quinn said.

"That's fine," Finn said. He got out his phone and sent a text to his mom. "Puck, I texted my mom, could you call Quinn's parents and Shelby?"

"Yeah, of course," Puck said. A few minutes later, Finn, Quinn and Puck arrived at the hospital, where Puck went to the reception desk and grabbed a wheelchair. "Hi. I'm Noah Puckerman, this is Quinn Fabray and her boyfriend Finn Hudson. Quinn's having a baby."

"You all look like you're under eighteen," the receptionist said.

"She needs to get seen by a doctor, regardless of how old she is," Puck said. "Can't you see how much pain she's in? I called both their parents..."

"We'll get you guys to a room," the receptionist said.

Finn felt so lucky Puck was here because he didn't know what to do, but Puck did. He was glad Puck was clearly putting aside his own feelings for Quinn to help them through this.

"You're going to be okay," Finn said to Quinn. He just didn't want to be completely helpless.

Quinn looked at Puck. "I want you there, too."

Now Finn was feeling a little more uncomfortable. He wasn't sure if he wanted another boy there when his girlfriend gave birth. "Man, I don't know if that's a good idea."

"Finn, I want him there," Quinn said. "He's been there a lot for me during these past few months."

Finn would have understood if Quinn wanted Santana or Brittany with her, but Puck? This just didn't seem like a good idea.

"We need to get her back there," the doctor said.

"Fine, Puck can come too," Finn said. He wasn't interested in more arguing. That felt like it was all he and Quinn did anymore. He wheeled Quinn's chair into the delivery room and put on his gown as the nurses got Quinn ready.

"She's two centimeters dilated," the nurse said. "It's going to be another few hours at least."

"Another few hours?" Quinn snapped. "I want this child out of me already. It hurts so much!"

Finn took Quinn's hand. "It'll go away."

Quinn slapped Finn across the face. "I hate you! This is all your fault!"

"You already told me it was my fault!" Finn said. It was the other thing she said that hurt more. I hate you. He knew Rachel would never say that to him.

"Don't be so hard on Finn," Puck said, looking guilty. "Need me to get you anything, Quinn?"

"I want some ice chips," Quinn said.

"I'll go get them," Puck said. "Finn, want anything?"

"Can I have some fries?" Finn asked.

"Sure, I'll be right back," Puck said.

Now Finn was feeling a little better about having Puck there. Maybe Puck was what he and Quinn needed. Something came to his mind as he turned to the nurse. "Can you get her an epidural?"

"I can check," the nurse said.

"Give me the epidural!" Quinn said.

"The nurse said she'll check," Finn said, trying to calm down his girlfriend. She could have at least thanked him for asking for the epidural.

"You're another centimeter," the nurse said to Quinn.

"See, that's progress," Finn said, trying to be reassuring.

Puck came back in. "Special delivery!"

Quinn perked up at the sight of Puck. "Thank you so much!"

"Is it okay if I step outside for a little?" Finn asked. He needed a break.

"Yeah, go ahead," Quinn said. Finn was sure Puck would take care of Quinn while he was gone, and Quinn was a lot less angry at Puck than she was at Finn. Then again, maybe that was because Puck wasn't the one who'd gotten Quinn pregnant... or kissed another girl at a school dance.

He was thinking about Rachel again. What was wrong with him? The girl he'd been with for almost a year was in a hospital bed in agonizing pain and he couldn't get another girl out of his head. Walking through the hospital halls, Finn heard a call. "Finn!"

He turned and saw his mother in the waiting room, talking with the woman who would be raising his biological daughter.

"How's she doing?" Shelby asked.

"She's about halfway there," Finn said.

"Are you okay, honey?" Carole asked.

"She's been yelling at me a lot," Finn said. "She slapped me and told me she hated me."

"I'm sure she didn't mean that," Shelby said.

"Labor is tough, Finn," Carole said. "It's the worst pain I was ever in. I said some things to your dad that I didn't mean when I was in labor with you, but when you came out, it was the best feeling ever."

Finn knew he'd probably feel worse after. It would likely be the last time he saw the first child he ever helped make.

"Maybe I should get back to Quinn," Finn said.

"Okay, keep us updated," Carole said.

Finn nodded as he walked down the hall. He knew who he needed to talk to. He picked up his cell phone and dialed Rachel's number, hoping desperately that she'd pick up. The phone rang twice before she answered. "Hi."

"Hi," Finn said.

"I miss talking to you," Rachel said.

"How are you?" Finn asked, hoping Rachel could distract him.

"I'm fine, I'm going to a movie with some of my friends tonight," Rachel said. "How are you?"

"Rachel, Quinn's in labor," Finn blurted out. "I don't know what to do."

"She's in labor?" Rachel sounded concerned. "Finn, you can talk to me any time. You should be with Quinn while she's in labor."

"Rachel, she's yelling at me and insulting me and I feel so worthless," Finn said.

"I'm sorry," Rachel said softly. "But Finn, she's in agonizing pain. She needs you. Everybody says and does things they regret. You can call me later. You know I always love talking with you."

"Maybe we could hang out sometime soon?" Finn asked.

"I'd love that," Rachel said. "Just be there for Quinn right now. Let me know how everything goes."

"Okay," Finn said. He felt sad as they hung up. Rachel sounded almost as if she was being supportive of Finn being with Quinn. Finn went back to the room, where Puck was holding a cloth to Quinn's back.

"Where were you?" Quinn asked.

"I just needed some air," Finn said.

"Okay," Quinn said.

"Thanks for being here," Finn said to Puck.

The next few hours crawled by. Quinn continued to wail about the pain she was in, and it continued to seem like Puck, not Finn, was the one who could make her feel better. Finally, the doctor told Quinn that she was ten centimeters dilated and she could push. Finn and Puck both held on to her as she screamed as she let out a few pushes. After a few pushes, another cry filled the room, and this one wasn't Quinn's.

"She's here," Finn thought out loud. This was his child. Well, biologically anyway.

"Where is she?" Quinn said quietly.

"They're just getting her ready," Puck said. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah," Quinn said.

The nurse came over with a small bundle. "Here she is."

Finn, Quinn and Puck looked on as the nurse placed the baby in Quinn's arms. Finn couldn't help but notice how beautiful the baby was - but that she looked nothing like him.

"We shouldn't get too attached," Quinn said to Finn. "She isn't ours."

Finn sighed. This baby was so beautiful, but Quinn was right - she wasn't theirs. She was going to be Shelby's daughter. From the beginning, Quinn hadn't let him have a say in what happened.

"How long do you want with her?" the nurse asked.

"We need some time," Puck said, suddenly getting defensive.

This was crossing the line. Finn turned to Puck. "And if I don't have a say, what makes you think you do?"

"This isn't your child!" Puck shouted. "You aren't the father! It wasn't your sperm! It was mine!"

Finn didn't know what to say or think right now. He looked at both Quinn and Puck, not believing what he'd just heard.

_Chapter 9 preview: Continues where this left off as the true paternity is revealed. What does this mean for Finn, Quinn, Puck - and Rachel?_

_10 reviews unlock Chapter 9!_


	9. Chapter 9: Truth

_I meant to upload this yesterday, but for some reason fanfic wouldn't let me upload new chapters! Thanks so much for the reviews on Chapter 8! I really enjoyed writing it. Now that the truth is out, things are going to heat up a bit! I definitely enjoyed writing this chapter and hope to write more Finchel soon! I definitely have some plans for Finchel in the rest of the story. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter and review if you want me to keep going!_

Chapter 9: Truth

"This isn't your child!" Puck shouted. "You aren't the father! It wasn't your sperm! It was mine!"

Finn didn't know what to say or think right now. He looked at both Quinn and Puck, not believing what he'd just heard.

"Mr. Puckerman, this isn't the time to mess around like this," one of the nurses said.

"I'm not messing around," Puck said. "That is my child. I'm the one who got her pregnant, not him."

Finn had a feeling stuff was going on between Quinn and Puck behind his back - but the baby who Quinn had spent nine months telling Finn was his was Puck's? And yet Quinn had yelled at Finn to pay the medical bills and take her in and take all the responsibility?

Puck was supposed to be his best friend. Yet he had pursued Quinn - who Finn had been dating for a few months before Quinn got pregnant. What type of people were they?

"Puck, please don't," Quinn pleaded.

"Don't what?" Puck asked. "Tell Finn what you should have told him months ago?"

Finn finally managed to look at Quinn. "Is he telling the truth?"

"Yes," Quinn whispered. She looked at the baby. "That's not your child."

Finn felt like his heart was stopping. "So you made up that story about me getting you pregnant?" Something had seemed off to him about it... but he still couldn't believe it.

"I made it up," Quinn admitted. "I was giving the baby up anyway and I could already feel you going away..."

This didn't make any sense. Quinn was spending much more time with Puck than she was with Finn anyway. "Why did you care about me going away if you had the nerve to sleep with another guy behind my back in the first place?"

Quinn looked down and didn't say anything. Finn knew she didn't have to say anything though. He knew the answer. He remembered what Quinn had said to him the day she asked him out: "You're the first freshman to be promoted to quarterback. I'm the first freshman to be promoted to head cheerleader." She thought he would help her status.

"Maybe this is partly my fault," Puck said. "I've always been into her and we were drunk that night..."

Finn glared at Puck. "You don't just do things like that!"

The hospital staff stepped out of the room, as if they knew that the three teens needed to talk by themselves. Finn wanted more than anything to slap both Quinn and Puck, but he knew that would do nothing. It wouldn't change the fact that Quinn had cheated on him and that his best friend had pursued his girlfriend. "I need to get out of the room for a few minutes," Finn finally said.

"Finn, don't go!" Quinn pleaded.

Finn lost it then. "Are you serious?" he snapped. "You have no right to tell me what to do and what not to do. Why did you lie to me?"

"I didn't want to lose you," Quinn said.

"No, you didn't want to stop dating the quarterback!" Finn said. Those words Quinn had said the day she asked him out replayed in his head again. "I know it's Puck who you really like! For nine months, you led me on, thinking I was going to have a baby..." He looked at the baby in the basinet again. Now that he looked closer, he noticed that the baby looked as much like Puck as she did like Quinn.

"Stop acting like you're so innocent!" Quinn said. "I know you kissed Rachel in the auditorium that day! And I know you took her on a bowling date and kissed her then. So you kissed her when you were dating me not once, not twice, but THREE times! And what about all those flirty numbers you two did when she was still in Glee?"

"Don't make this about me!" Finn shot back. Sure, maybe it was wrong of him and Rachel to do what they did, but it was nothing compared to what Quinn did to him.

Puck looked like he was ready to say something when the three of them heard a cry. "Why don't you two look after your daughter?" Finn snapped as he left the room. Right now, he needed time to himself to process everything.

Finn took a walk through the halls as he heard his mom call his name. He looked up and saw his mom sitting in the waiting room with Shelby. "Did Quinn have the baby?" Carole asked.

"Yeah," Finn said. He gave Shelby a small smile. "Your daughter is here."

"You look kind of upset for someone whose child was just born," Carole said. "Finn, your daughter is here."

This was more reminders. "She's not my daughter."

"Finn, even though I'm raising her, she'll always have some sort of connection with you," Shelby said. "And you and Quinn can visit any time you want."

Finn shook his head. "She's not mine. She's Puck's."

Carole and Shelby both gave Finn shocked looks. "What?" Carole asked.

"Yeah," Finn said. "Quinn spent nine months lying to me." He felt the anger building up again.

"Oh, Finn," Carole said softly, pulling her son close.

"She slept with Puck behind my back," Finn blurted out. "Then she spent the last months yelling at me, not Puck, to pay the medical bills and handle everything. She broke my trust and it feels like Puck never cared about me."

"I'm so sorry, honey," Carole said.

"I hate them, Mom!" Finn said. "I hate both of them!"

"Of course you do," Carole said.

"I know Quinn's mad at me for kissing Rachel and it was wrong, but what I did is nothing compared to what she did!" Finn sobbed.

"Rachel?" Shelby asked. "Rachel Berry, the girl who was in the glee club with you guys at your Sectionals?"

Finn was up for a distraction. "Yeah, Rachel Berry. She transferred schools because of all the bullying at McKinley. She's really awesome. She's so sweet and talented and I love hanging out with her. She has an amazing voice. How do you know her?" Now that he thought about it, maybe he should transfer schools, too.

Shelby looked perplexed. "Is she Hiram and LeRoy Berry's daughter?"

"Yeah," Finn said. "Do you know them?"

"I do," Shelby said. Then Finn began thinking. Shelby had told him and Quinn that she carried a baby for a gay couple at one point. Could Rachel be her daughter?

Then the nurse came in. "Mr. Hudson, Miss Fabray and Mr. Puckerman would like to see you. We were looking for you."

"Would you like me to come with you, sweetheart?" Carole asked.

"I'll be fine," Finn sighed as he walked back to the hospital room with the nurse. Before they went in the room, Finn glanced in the window and saw Quinn holding the baby as Puck looked on. They looked perfectly happy. If this was what Quinn had wanted, why had she strung Finn along for so long? It just didn't make sense.

The nurse came in with Finn. "I found him."

"Don't you want some time with her before Shelby picks her up?" Puck asked.

Finn sighed as he sat next to Puck and Quinn. He'd tried not to get attached to this baby because he knew Quinn was giving her up anyway, but he did feel some sort of connection.

Of course, now he knew the baby wasn't his in any way. The baby was Puck and Quinn's biologically, and she would be Shelby's legally.

"We were talking about names while you were gone," Quinn said.

"Really?" Finn asked. When he'd brought up names, Quinn had gotten mad at him. Now she and Puck were talking about it? "Shouldn't Shelby pick it?"

"Well, we can suggest it," Puck said.

Finn figured he couldn't be too angry at Quinn for being nicer to Puck, but he couldn't help but be hurt by the way she treated him. He wanted more than anything to just get out of there. Even looking at Quinn and Puck reminded him of how much they'd hurt him. He just felt like he couldn't just walk out of there without seeming like a complete asshole. After all, Quinn still technically was his girlfriend. "What do you guys have in mind?"

"Beth," Puck said quietly.

"That's a nice name," Finn managed to say. He was honestly tired of acting like this was no big deal. He felt like he couldn't break up with Quinn right now, but he felt like he couldn't. How could she do this to him?

"I'm really sorry," Puck said.

At least Puck was apologizing. "I'm not ready to forgive you yet," Finn said. "Either of you."

"You can't be mad at me when you cheated on me with Rachel!" Quinn said.

"I did not get Rachel pregnant and tell everyone the baby belonged to someone else!" Finn snapped.

"Stop acting like you're so innocent!" Puck said.

Finn kicked over his chair and started to leave the room. "I can't do this. I'm sorry, but I need to get out of this room." This time, he went in the opposite direction so he wouldn't pass the waiting room where his mother was with Shelby, deciding to call the one person he knew would listen and be there for him. After some walking, he dialed Rachel's number. Rachel picked up the phone. "Are you a dad now?"

"No," Finn said.

"She's still in labor?" Rachel asked.

"She had the baby," Finn said. "The baby's not mine."

"What?!" Rachel gasped.

"Quinn and Puck had sex together," Finn confessed to Rachel. "The baby isn't mine. Quinn told a story about me getting her pregnant without having sex."

"What?" Rachel asked. "That's insane! How could they do that to you?"

"They were supposed to care about me," Finn said. "They don't. And that hurts. I can't believe how she lied to me and led me on for nine months. She said she thought she was losing me and claims that's why she lied. I remember the day she asked me out, she said it was so cool how we were the first freshmen to become quarterback and head cheerleader. She doesn't love me."

"Oh, Finn," Rachel said softly. "I just wish I could be there with you now to help you feel better."

"I miss you so much," Finn said. "I know you'd never do that to me."

"I'd never do that to anyone," Rachel said. "Finn, I'm so sorry."

"Thanks," Finn said. "Maybe could you come over when I'm home from the hospital? I really need a friend now."

"Of course," Rachel said.

Finn felt a little better after talking to Rachel, but he also knew his conversation with Puck and Quinn was far from over. The paperwork had been completed for weeks, so after Beth and Shelby left, it wouldn't be long before Quinn could go home. When they left the hospital, Finn needed to have a real talk with Quinn and Puck. He went back to the hospital room, where Quinn and Puck were talking. Shortly after he arrived, a nurse came in. "All the papers have been signed, so whenever you're ready, her adoptive mother is, too."

"We've had time with her," Quinn said. She turned to Finn. "I know she's not yours, but you thought she was..."

You thought she was? It was more like Quinn had lied that she was. It would really be too hard for Finn to really see the baby. It would just be more reminders of everything that his girlfriend and best friend had done to him. "It's okay," Finn told the nurse. "Like Puck said, she's not mine."

"Okay," the nurse said. She picked up Beth and left the room, leaving Puck, Quinn and Finn alone in silence.

Finally, Puck spoke. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to. I called my mom and explained everything, so you and your mom can go home if you want."

"Thanks," Finn said. He just needed to be away from the hospital and away from Puck and Quinn. His hurt and anger were just too strong. He went looking for his mom so they could go home, still not believing everything that had gone on lately.

_Chapter 10 preview: Finn, Quinn and Puck talk about what happened, as do Finn and Rachel. Finn and Quinn will break up. Finn also tells Rachel something that shocks her._

_10 reviews unlock Chapter 10!_


	10. Chapter 10: Safe Place

_Thanks so much for all your reviews on Chapter 9. There weren't as many, but I appreciated the ones I did get. This is one of my favorite chapters - the wait for Finchel won't be long now! Hope you enjoy it and review if you want me to keep going!_

Chapter 10: Safe Place

Rachel couldn't believe what Finn had told her on the phone. Puck and Quinn had lied to him about the baby being his, when in reality it was Puck's? She had to admit that part of her was happy because she knew it undoubtedly meant things were over between Finn and Quinn, but at the same time, she felt horrible for Finn. No one should have to be lied to and tricked like he was.

Rachel heard the doorbell ring and went to answer it. She opened the door and saw Finn. "Hey."

"Hey," Finn said. "Can I come in? I just... needed a safe place to go to."

He considered her house a safe place? Rachel tried to hold in her excitement. "Of course." She opened the door and gave him a hug. "How are you doing?"

Finn shrugged. "Shocked. Hurt. Angry."

"Of course you are," Rachel said.

"I just left the hospital," Finn said. "I'm sure they'd come looking for me if I went to my house, so I couldn't go there. My mom said she won't tell them where I am if they come looking for me."

"So he just said that he was the father?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah," Finn said. "Rachel... I'm just so mad at them."

"Of course you are," Rachel said. "I would be, too."

"I couldn't even look at the baby," Finn said. "I know she's innocent, but she represents everything that happened. I know I didn't really love Quinn, but I grew to love her, if that makes sense."

Rachel was shocked by what Finn said. He didn't love Quinn? "You didn't love Quinn?"

"Well, I thought I did at one point, but I don't think I did, when it came down to it," Finn admitted.

Could this mean he loved her? Rachel didn't want to say anything about that though. Finn had enough on his mind. "Is the baby with her adoptive family now?"

"Well, her adoptive mother, yeah," Finn said. "Rachel - want to know something?"

"Sure," Rachel said.

"I think the baby's adoptive mother might be your birth mother," Finn said.

"What?" Rachel asked. All her life, she'd wondered who her mom was. She loved her dads, but something definitely had always been missing.

"She knows your dads," Finn said. "And when Quinn and I met with potential adoptive families, she told us that once she was a surrogate for a gay couple. She looks a lot like you."

Rachel couldn't believe it. Finn might have found her birth mother? "What's her name?"

"Shelby Corcoran," Finn said. "Haven't your dads ever told you anything about your mom?"

"They don't like to talk about her," Rachel said. "Plus, I'm afraid to ask them about her. I love them and I don't want to make them feel bad."

"They love you, I know it," Finn said. "But I'm sure they'd understand."

"I missed you," Rachel said.

"I really don't want to go back to school on Monday," Finn said. "Everyone's going to be giving me so much crap."

Rachel now felt bad that she and Finn weren't at school together. "I wish I could be there with you." She knew there wasn't much she could do to protect Finn, but at least he wouldn't be alone.

"Can we maybe watch a movie or something?" Finn asked.

Rachel was always up for distracting Finn. "Of course."

"Thanks," Finn said. He picked out a DVD and put it in the DVD player. Rachel sat next to Finn on the couch and smiled to herself as Finn held her hand.

x

"Thanks for letting me spend the night here," Finn said. "I'm just worried that Quinn and Puck would come looking for me at my house."

"It's no problem," Rachel said. Rachel's dads were out of town for a conference and Finn's mom had agreed to let him sleep over as long as he slept in the guest room.

"Want some breakfast?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, that would be great," Finn said.

"How are you feeling today?" Rachel asked as she started to make pancakes.

"Better, I guess," Finn said. Getting away from everything had made him feel better, but he was still in shock that his best friend and girlfriend had lied to him.

"You know, you don't have to pretend to be okay," Rachel said.

Finn gave Rachel a smile. He knew that he could always talk to her. "They just... they aren't good people." He honestly didn't know what else to say.

"Good people wouldn't do that," Rachel agreed.

"I could have been with you all these months and I couldn't because of a bunch of lies!" Finn said. The truth was, now he wasn't sure if he wanted to be with anyone. Rachel wasn't Quinn, but he didn't even think Quinn was capable of hurting him so much.

Finn and Rachel heard a knock at the door. "I'll get that," Rachel said.

Finn stayed in the kitchen as Rachel went to the door. He had a bad feeling when he heard what Rachel said when she answered the door. "Why are YOU here?"

Finn smelled trouble. He had a bad feeling, and his worries came true when he went to the door and saw Quinn and Puck.

"I thought you might be here," Quinn said.

"Go away," Rachel snapped.

Puck looked at Finn. "Please, man, let us talk."

Finn couldn't stand to look at Puck and Quinn. "There's nothing to talk about."

"Finn, please," Quinn said. "I'm so sorry."

"No, you're not!" Finn said. "If you were sorry, you would have told me right away rather than making me think it was mine for nine months!"

"It's a she!" Puck said.

"Don't act like you're so innocent," Finn snapped. "You could have told me."

"She didn't want you to know," Puck said.

"You were supposed to be my best friend!" Finn said. "I know you go after every girl, but I thought that you'd draw the line somewhere. It was bad enough when you went after Rachel!" At least when Puck went after Rachel he'd been honest about it.

"Well, you're acting like you're so innocent!" Quinn said. "You accused Puck of doing that, but maybe I wouldn't have lied if you hadn't been cheating on me with Rachel!"

"Kissing someone is not the same thing as sleeping with someone else behind your boyfriend's back and telling him for nine months that the baby is his!" Finn said. "Why did you sleep with Puck, anyway?"

"I felt bad about myself that day, and you weren't there for me. He was!" Quinn said. "I tried calling you, but when you called me back, you told me you'd been caught up in the middle of a video game!"

"My life does not revolve around you!" Finn said. He remembered that day now. It was the day of one of his and Quinn's many arguments. Quinn had insulted some of his plays in the most recent football game. Finn had already felt bad enough and was talking to Quinn in an attempt to feel better. When he finally called her back, she'd told him she was hanging out with Puck.

"I don't want you two at my house," Rachel snapped. "Not after what you did to Finn. And neither of you have been particularly nice to me."

Finn smiled at Rachel for standing up for him. "Oh, I saw that," Quinn said.

"Stop it!" Finn said. "Right now! I don't want to see you two! It's not even just that you cheated on me, it's that you lied to me! I'm not happy at all with you two and I don't want anything to do with either of you!"

"Does this mean you're done with me?" Quinn asked.

"Yes," Finn said. "You've been done with me. I've been waiting to do this since the day I sang with Rachel and now I'm finally doing it! I'm done with you." It felt good to finally do that.

"Now you two get out of my house," Rachel said.

"You can't tell us what to do!" Puck said.

Finn couldn't believe Puck. "Yes, she can! This is her house. She decides who can be here. And I wouldn't want someone who threw slushies at me or drew pictures to mock me on the bathroom wall in my house."

"And if you two don't get out of my house, I'm going to call the police," Rachel snapped.

Quinn and Puck left the house as Finn turned to Rachel. It had been so hard to see them, he didn't know how he'd be able to handle seeing them every day. "They shouldn't have come here," Finn said to Rachel.

"Calling the police was a bit extreme, but at least it got rid of them," Rachel said.

"Rachel, how am I supposed to handle seeing them every day?" Finn asked. He'd tried so hard to put on a brave face, but he could barely even handle being in the same room as them. He got made fun of at school enough already, but he knew that he'd be the laughing stock of school.

"Maybe you should take Monday off of school," Rachel suggested.

"Yeah, but I'll have to go back eventually," Finn said. He wondered: had Puck and Quinn told anyone else the truth? How many people were hiding this from him?

"Let's just focus on one thing at a time," Rachel said. "Let's see how things go when you go back to school."

"I don't want to go back!" Finn said. "I can't go back to that school!" A thought came to mind. "Do you think your school's brother school would take me?"

"It would be worth a try," Rachel said. "For one thing, I am so proud of you for FINALLY breaking up with Quinn. That was a long time coming."

Finn finally managed to smile. "Thanks, Rach."

"What does this mean for us?" Rachel asked.

This was where things were going to get tough. Finn didn't want to hurt Rachel, but he wasn't sure if he was ready for this. "Rachel, I really like you and I want to be with you, but right now - I don't know if I can be with anyone. I just need some time to recover from everything. To regain my trust in humanity."

"It's okay," Rachel said. "I understand. I do want to be together eventually, too."

"I love you," Finn said. It felt so good to finally say that and be able to. "You know that, right?"

"I love you, too," Rachel said. "I hope you know I'm going to be here for you during this, no matter what happens."

"Thank you," Finn said softly. Without thinking about it, Finn and Rachel leaned toward each other and kissed. Neither of them had been thinking about it before, but it felt just as good as their previous kisses.

"Everything's going to be okay," Rachel said.

"I hope so," Finn said. He was sure that if he kept Rachel on his side, everything would be okay.

_Chapter 11 preview: What will happen when Finn goes back to school? More of Finn and Rachel and of Quick. Rachel begins to investigate whether Finn really did find her mother._

_10 reviews unlock Chapter 11!_


	11. Chapter 11: The Aftermath

_Thanks a lot for all the reviews, I appreciate them. It's hard to believe it's been six months without Cory. I still miss him so much. With all the talk about the 100th episode and plans for Season 6, it makes me sad that he won't be here. On a lighter note, the song they released featuring him was amazing!_

_Hope you all enjoy this chapter and review if I should keep going!_

Chapter 11: The Aftermath

"I don't want to go to school today," Finn told his mom.

"I know you don't," Carole said. "I wouldn't want to go back after what happened either."

"I can't believe they did that to me," Finn said.

"I'm sorry," Carole said. "You will need to go back eventually. You might as well get it out of the way."

Finn groaned. "Mom, I don't want to."

"Finn, you have to," Carole said.

"Fine," Finn grumbled. Maybe people didn't know. Maybe...

"If anyone gives you too hard a time, I can call the school," Carole said.

"Don't bother, Mom," Finn mumbled. He knew that since Sue Sylvester wasn't on his side, there was basically nothing he could do. Nervously, he got in the car with his mom. He didn't say anything on the way to school and just got out of the car. As he passed a group of kids he didn't know and they didn't say anything, he felt a small sense of reassurance. People knew who he was. People knew that he was the quarterback and that she was the head cheerleader. They knew that they'd been together and that she was pregnant. If these people Finn didn't know didn't turn, that had to be something.

Finn took the long way to his locker so he didn't have to pass where the football players and the cheerleaders were hanging out. His locker was near the end of the hall, so he could just take the back halls to class and walk in as the bell was ringing and out right as the bell rang. This shouldn't be too hard, right?

He wished Rachel was here. She would make him feel better, he knew it.

When Finn got to his locker, he saw Puck and Matt talking a few lockers down. Why were they here? Their lockers weren't near Finn's.

"Hey Finn." Finn turned and saw Kurt, Sam, Mike and Artie.

"Hey," Finn said quietly. At least these were his friends.

"Are you okay?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah," Finn said. Maybe there was a chance they didn't know.

"At basketball practice Puck told everyone," Mike said. "I can't believe they did that to you."

"I'm sorry, man," Sam said. "What was going to happen if you guys kept the baby?"

"Did they seriously think that you wouldn't notice that the baby didn't look anything like you?" Artie asked.

"I don't get why she did that," Kurt said. "If she didn't like you enough to sleep with someone else while she was with you, why did she not just break up with you?"

"I don't know," Finn said. "It's over now though. I don't want anything to do with her ever again."

Puck and Matt came over. "Hey guys," Matt said.

"Leave Finn alone," Kurt said to Puck. "You already caused him enough grief."

"Why are you guys mad at me?" Puck asked. "Be mad at Quinn. She's the one who tried to keep my own baby from me."

Finn couldn't believe that Puck had told people about this. Well, it had been nice to have his friends being sympathetic, but he wasn't interested in having Puck and Quinn play the victims when they were the ones who'd spent nine months deceiving him. (And who knew how long they'd been seeing each other on the side before Quinn got pregnant?)

"Puck, can you stop it?" Finn asked. The school day hadn't even started and already he wanted it to be over. He walked away from his locker, wondering where a safe place to go would be. He was not only halfway down the hall when he felt something cold and wet in his face.

"How's that feel, idiot?" Finn heard Karofsky shout.

"You thought that you could get pregnant without having sex?" Azimio laughed.

Finn was tired of this. Of course he knew that. He just thought Quinn was so desperate to be with the quarterback that she wouldn't ever have sex with someone else and there had been a one in a million time someone would get pregnant without having sex.

He couldn't believe Puck had told people. Then he felt a hand on his back. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up," Kurt said.

"I hate this school," Finn snapped. As much as he hated that Rachel had left, he understood why she did it.

"Just lay low today," Mike suggested when the boys were in the bathroom.

"It's hard when you're so tall," Finn managed to laugh. He didn't have very many classes with Mike and Kurt, and Sam and Artie were freshmen, so he wouldn't have them around most of the day. Rachel had been in most of his classes... and unfortunately, so was Puck. Today was going to be tough.

All he wanted was to go home. He groaned as he went to his first period class. He was lucky that Quinn wasn't there today. Since the seats in this class were set up alphabetically, he and Quinn sat next to each other. It didn't help that the other students in the class were whispering to each other and looking at him. He sat down, trying to ignore them.

Finn felt a poke and turned and saw Santana. "So are you and Quinn over?" Santana whispered.

"Yeah, we're over," Finn whispered back.

"So are you and Rachel together now?" Santana said.

"I'm not sure," Finn said.

"Well, Quinn's not happy that you cheated on her," Santana snapped.

"Finn, Santana, stop talking," the teacher said. Yes, what Finn had done was wrong. But what Quinn and Puck had done was worse.

The rest of the school day just got worse. In History class, the teacher was talking about a politician who had an affair, and students in the class were looking at Finn and smirking. None of Finn's friends were in this class, but Puck was in it and so were Quinn, Santana and Brittany.

"Oh, like how Finn cheated on Quinn and led her to cheat on him with Puck?" one of the cheerios asked.

"Stop it!" Finn said. "Quinn slept with Puck before anything started happening with me and Rachel!"

"Oh, so you're admitting that you cheated on Quinn!" another cheerio said. "How could you choose a loser like Rachel over someone as cool as Quinn?"

"Will everyone stop attacking me?" Finn asked. "Why isn't anyone mad at Puck and Quinn for hurting me?" Why was everyone siding with Quinn and Puck? Was it because she was thought of as being the prettiest, most popular girl in school and Puck was thought of the hottest, most popular guy in school? Finn was much nicer than either of them, but clearly that didn't matter.

"Okay, everyone, that's enough," the teacher said. "We're getting off topic."

No one stood up for Finn. Rachel had been in this class and he knew she would have stood up for him.

Everyone was just making him feel worse and worse about everything that happened. Finn knew there was only one thing that he could do to fix all of this. He skipped his next class and went to the library and did some looking around the internet.

x

"So Finn wasn't the father of Quinn's baby," Zoey said. "He always seemed to nice to be with her."

"Nope," Rachel said. Even though she felt bad for Finn when she found out the truth, she was relieved that Finn and Quinn were over. She'd just gone along with her friends from Crawford to make phone calls for a congressional campaign Sasha was volunteering for, and now the six of them were getting dinner at Breadstix. "It's that Puck guy I was telling you guys about."

"He's the one you dated for like a week, right?" Lauren asked.

"Yeah," Rachel said. "He's dated like every girl at the school."

"And Quinn gave up the baby?" Natalie asked.

"Yeah," Rachel said.

"Hi Rachel." Rachel turned and saw Quinn and Puck. Rachel was surprised that Puck and Quinn were going out today. Finn had told Rachel that Quinn hadn't been at school today.

"Hi Quinn," Rachel said. She was feeling slightly uncomfortable. Was Quinn going to mock her? Insult her? Bully her? "How are you feeling?" Rachel managed to say. "You just had a baby a few days ago."

"I hate those stupid stretch marks, but I'm glad it's over," Quinn said.

Rachel decided to not hold it in anymore. "Quinn, Puck, what you guys did to Finn was wrong. You two, as his girlfriend and his best friend, were the two people he probably cared about the most, and you betrayed him like that?"

"I thought you'd be happy," Puck said. "Now that Finn and Quinn aren't together anymore, you and Finn are free to see each other."

"So, are you two together now?" Rachel asked Puck and Quinn.

"Yes," Puck said.

"Well, it was nice to see you guys," Rachel said. "Have a good date."

"You know, they're right," Jessica said. "Now that Finn and Quinn are broken up, the door is open for you and Finn."

"I don't know," Rachel said.

"Rachel, we know how into Finn you are," Natalie said. "And we know how into you Finn is."

"I just don't want him to get hurt again," Rachel said. "He's really fragile right now, especially after what Quinn did to him."

"You love Finn," Sasha told Rachel. "You wouldn't hurt him."

"I just want to wait until he's ready," Rachel said.

"Hey Rachel!" Rachel turned and saw more familiar faces: Kurt, Mercedes and Tina.

"Hey guys!" Rachel said. "Just getting some dinner?"

"Yeah," Kurt said. "I didn't get around to telling you, but you guys were really good at Regionals."

"Thanks," Rachel said. "You guys were really good, too."

"I don't know if we'll be back next year though," Mercedes said.

"What do you mean?" Rachel asked.

"Mr. Schue told us that Finn's talking about switching schools next year, so we'd be short on members again," Kurt said.

Finn switching schools? Had he been serious when he'd made those comments? "I'm sure you guys will find someone if Finn leaves," Rachel said.

"I doubt it," Tina said. "You know how hated we are at school."

"Don't give up," Rachel said. "Everything will work out."

"Our table's ready," Mercedes said. "Nice to see you, Rachel."

"Nice to see you guys, too," Rachel said.

"So, Finn might leave McKinley?" Lauren asked.

"Well, I left McKinley," Rachel said. "If he went to Dalton, I'd get to see him a lot more... I am worried about him though."

"Of course you're worried," Sasha said. "Maybe you could go see him after we eat."

"Yeah, I'd like that," Rachel said. "He texted me and said it was a bad day at school."

x

Finn sat in his room trying to focus on his homework, but it was hard for him to stay focused on anything right now. Getting through today had been hard. He hoped tomorrow would be easier, but he doubted it.

He heard a knock on his bedroom door and was sure it was his mom. "Come in, Mom."

"Actually, it's me." Finn looked and saw Rachel. He already felt a little better.

"Hey Rach," Finn said.

Rachel gave Finn a hug. "I'm sorry you had a bad day."

"Thanks for coming over," Finn said. "I know you and your friends were going to make those phone calls today, so I didn't expect you."

"Finn, you know I'm always here for you," Rachel said, sitting next to Finn. "What happened today?"

"Lots of people were making fun of me, and in one of my classes people were talking like I was the wrongdoer," Finn said.

"We probably shouldn't have kissed when you were with Quinn, but that's not the same thing as what she did to you," Rachel said.

"Exactly," Finn said. "I hate the way they're acting."

"It's okay, I'm here for you," Rachel said.

"I got slushied this morning," Finn said.

"I don't miss that all," Rachel said.

"I bet," Finn said. He just wanted a distraction. "So, how did making those phone calls go?"

"It was fine," Rachel said. "A few people hung up on me."

"I'm sorry," Finn said.

"So, after we made the calls we went out to dinner and ran into Kurt, Mercedes and Tina," Rachel said. "They told me you told Mr. Schue you might switch schools."

"I don't know," Finn said. He'd downloaded the Dalton application, but he doubted they'd take him in the middle of the year.

"Whatever you do, I'll support you," Rachel said.

"I know," Finn said. "Thanks, Rachel. For everything." No matter what happened, he had a feeling that as long as he had Rachel, everything would be okay.

x

After Rachel left Finn's house and went home, she logged on to Facebook. She noticed that Finn had deleted both Puck and Quinn from his Facebook friends and figured that was probably a good idea. Puck and Quinn had both kept her on their Facebook friends list - for now, anyway. Rachel saw that Puck had added Shelby Corcoran to his friends list. That was the adoptive mother of the baby, right?

Looking at Shelby's profile photo, Rachel realized Finn was right - Shelby looked a lot like her. She looked more at Shelby's profile. Shelby was a show choir coach and she loved Broadway. She remembered her dads telling her that they've looked at talent and beauty as a creteria in their surrogates. Maybe Finn was right. Could Shelby be her mother?

_Chapter 12 preview: Finn makes a big decision. Rachel further investigates trying to find out who her mom is. More moments for Finchel - and another Glee couple not seen in Season 1 begins to form. _

_10 reviews unlock Chapter 12!_


	12. Chapter 12: Official

_Wow. I'm sorry I've taken so long. I've been dealing with work and personal issues this week, as well as an infection. In this chapter, something happens that people have been waiting a while for, so I hope it meets your expectations. Hope you enjoy this chapter and review if I should keep writing. The next chapter of my other fanfic should be up in a few days :)_

Chapter 12: Official

"So, how are things going?" Rachel asked Finn. The two of them had decided to go to Olive Garden for lunch because Finn didn't want to worry about running into anyone from McKinley at Breadstix. Rachel had a feeling that meant things hadn't been going well.

"The cheerios defaced my locker," Finn groaned.

"What?" Rachel asked. She couldn't believe it.

"Yeah," Finn said. "They put a bunch of stickers that said "cheater" on it."

"That's horrible," Rachel said.

"Yeah," Finn said. "I really am considering leaving McKinley. I downloaded the Dalton application and filled it out and sent it in."

"If you went to Dalton, I'd see you a lot more," Rachel said.

"Yeah," Finn said. "Plus I read online that they have a no bullying policy, like Crawford."

"I just want you to be happy," Rachel said.

"You're happy, aren't you?" Finn asked.

"Yeah," Rachel said. Overall, she was happy, but one important thing was missing: Finn. They still weren't officially together, and she was falling more and more in love with him.

"You deserve to be happy," Finn said.

"So do you," Rachel said.

"Finn?"

Rachel looked up at the woman who was paused by her and Finn's table. This was the woman who'd adopted Quinn and Puck's daughter, and she looked just like Rachel. Shelby looked even more like Rachel in person than she did in the photos she'd posted on Facebook.

"Hi," Finn said. "This is Rachel."

"Hi," Shelby said, looking at Rachel. It looked almost as if Shelby had the same suspicions Rachel had. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too," Rachel managed to say. "So, how's Beth?"

"She's great," Shelby said. "She's with the babysitter now, I was just getting some lunch with my friends."

"Oh," Rachel said. By the way Shelby was looking at her, she was almost sure that Shelby was her mother.

Then Shelby looked at Finn. "Isn't Rachel beautiful?"

Finn smiled and nodded. "She is." He looked across the table at Rachel, giving her one of those looks as if he was asking her if she was okay.

"Well, it was nice to see you guys," Shelby said.

"Yeah, you too," Finn said. After Shelby left, Finn turned to Rachel. "Rach, are you okay?"

"Finn, I think she is my mother," Rachel said. "Did you see the way she was looking at me? She looked as if she'd finally found something she'd been looking for for so long..."

Finn took Rachel's hand. "I saw that. We're going to need to figure this out."

"Yeah," Rachel said. She was beginning to feel a bit overwhelmed. She might have just met her mother, something she'd wanted to do her entire life.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Finn asked, putting his arm around Rachel.

"Finn... I might have just met my mom," Rachel said.

"I think you might have, too," Finn said. "We'll figure out if she is your mom."

"How?" Rachel asked. "Every time I try to talk to my dads about my mom, they change the subject."

"We'll find a way," Finn said. "Want to go to my house?"

"Yeah, I'd like that," Rachel said.

"My mom's out with Kurt's dad, so we'll have the house to ourselves," Finn said.

"Oh, I like that idea," Rachel said. They got back in her car and drove to Finn's house. "So, how are things going with your mom and Kurt's dad?"

"They're going well," Finn said. "Kurt's dad is great. He and I are going to a baseball game next week."

"Really?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah," Finn said. "I've never been to a professional sporting event before. My mom isn't really into that kind of stuff."

"I bet that'll be fun," Rachel said as she and Finn pulled up to Finn's driveway and walked into the house. They sat together on the couch for a few minutes before Finn spoke. "Want to sing together?"

"Sing together?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah," Finn said. "I got a karaoke machine after I joined glee club to practice our songs with. There's one song on here that I've always wanted to sing with you, that I was hoping we could have sung together in glee club."

"I'd love to sing with you," Rachel said. He had a dream duet? She had a list of duets that she wanted to sing with him. Maybe if Finn transferred, their schools could combine choirs and they could sing a duet together...

Rachel had to stop fantasizing, and reality seemed so much better when she saw what song Finn had in mind. This was one of her dream duets too.

_Finn: Highway run  
Into the midnight sun  
Wheels go round and round  
You're on my mind  
Rachel: Restless hearts  
Sleep alone tonight  
Sending all my love  
Along the wire  
Finn and Rachel: And they say that the road  
Ain't no place to start a family  
Right down the line it's been you and me  
And loving a music man  
Ain't always what it's supposed to be  
Rachel: Oh boy, you stand by me  
Finn and Rachel: I'm forever yours  
Faithfully  
Rachel: Circus life  
Under the big top world  
Finn and Rachel: We all need the clowns  
To make us smile  
Rachel: Oh!  
Through space and time (Finn: Through space and time)  
Finn and Rachel: Always another show  
Wondering where I am  
Lost without you  
And being a part ain't easy on this love affair  
Two strangers learn to fall in love again  
I get the joy of rediscovering you  
Finn: Oh girl, you stand by me  
Finn and Rachel: I'm forever yours  
Faithfully  
Rachel and Finn: Oh oh oh oh  
Oh oh oh oh oh  
Oh oh oh oh oh oh...! (Finn: Faithfully...)  
Oh oh oh oh (Rachel: Faithfully)  
Oh oh oh oh oh (Rachel: I'm still yours)  
oh oh oh oh oh oh  
Oh oh oh oh oh  
Oh oh oh oh oh oh  
Rachel: I'm still yours!  
Finn and Rachel: Oh oh oh oh,  
Oh oh oh oh oh  
Oh oh oh oh oh oh!  
Oh oh oh oh  
Oh oh oh oh oh  
Oh oh oh oh oh oh  
I'm still yours!  
Faithfully..._

At the end of the duet, it had sounded even better than she'd imagined it sounding when she imagined herself and Finn singing together. "Wow," Finn said.

"Yeah, wow," Rachel said. "I think that's the best either of us have ever sounded."

"Me too," Finn said. "You know, that song makes me think of us."

"Of us?" Rachel asked. She thought they weren't together. Well, maybe they were, but she thought he didn't want to be with anyone after what Quinn did to him. Still, she would forever be faithful to Finn.

Before either of them could say anything, Rachel heard the door open and saw Finn's mom and Kurt's dad come in. "Hi Mom," Finn said. "Hi Burt."

"Hi Finn," Carole said. "Hi Rachel. Wasn't expecting you here."

"She came to hang out," Finn said.

"Finn, do you know who this boy Kurt's hanging out with today is?" Burt asked.

"Kurt's hanging out with a boy today?" Finn asked.

"Yeah, he gave me the impression that it's not just as a friend," Burt said. "Well, we'll be meeting him tonight."

"What's happening tonight?" Finn asked.

"I'm having Burt and Kurt over for dinner," Carole said. "Kurt asked if this young man can join us, too. You can stay too if you want, Rachel."

"That would be great," Rachel said. As Burt and Carole went into the dining room, she turned back to Finn. Finn and Rachel sat quietly on the couch for a few more minutes. The thoughts of their duet hadn't left Rachel's head. She looked over at Finn, and then he looked back at her. Finn leaned in and kissed Rachel, and then they began making out without even thinking about it.

"What's going on here?" Finn and Rachel turned and saw Kurt and Blaine.

"Blaine?" Rachel asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Kurt friended me on Facebook after we met at McKinley," Blaine said. "We've been talking a lot on Facebook and I asked him if he wanted to go to a movie with me today."

Rachel was relieved for a distraction from what she and Finn had done. "Oh, how was the movie?"

"It was great," Kurt said. "Now what were you two up to?"

Finn looked nervous. "Did your dad give you a key to the house, Kurt?"

"We're having dinner here tonight, so I just came in," Kurt said. "The door was unlocked. We all know you two are in love. So why aren't you official?"

This pressure was making Rachel a little nervous. "Are you two official?"

"This was only the first date, but I had a great time," Blaine said.

"So did I," Kurt said.

Burt and Carole came in, and Rachel hoped this would distract Kurt and Blaine. "So, you're Kurt's friend?" Burt asked Blaine.

"Yeah," Blaine said. "I go to Dalton."

"Oh, Finn might be going there next year," Carole said.

"He's having trouble at McKinley, too?" Blaine asked.

"Yeah," Carole said. "Kurt and Rachel probably told you about the situation with the baby, and the aftermath's been tough."

"You're a sophomore, right Finn?" Blaine asked.

"Yeah," Finn said.

"One of the boys in the sophomore class just moved away," Blaine said. "There is an opening. Maybe you could start sooner."

Getting to see Finn more often sooner? Rachel liked this idea.

"Kurt, did anyone bother you and Blaine when you were at the movie?" Burt asked.

"Nope," Kurt said. "They probably thought that we were just friends."

"Well, people think that Finn and Rachel are just friends, but we know they're not," Blaine said. "They were just making out on the couch."

Carole gave Finn a look. "Finn! Rachel! Maybe save stuff like that for private?"

"Yeah," Rachel said. "Finn, want to go upstairs?"

"Yeah," Finn said. She needed to talk to him about this. When Finn and Rachel were in Finn's room, Rachel closed the door. "Finn, can we talk?"

"What about?" Finn asked.

"About us," Rachel said. "We kiss, we sing romantic duets together, we spend one on one time together..."

"Yeah," Finn said.

"Finn, we may not think it's official, but I think we are together," Rachel said. "I love you and you love me, you know it. I'm not going to hurt you. I promise I'd never do what Quinn did and I'll always be there for you when you need me. When other people bother you about things, I'll be there to defend you."

"I want us to be together, too," Finn said. "I'm sorry I held back for so long. I guess I was just afraid, but I know you'll never hurt me the way she did."

"If you don't want to be together I understand," Rachel said.

Finn smiled at Rachel. "I want us to be." Then he gave her a hug and kissed her passionately. Rachel didn't want this kiss to end.

x

When Rachel got home from Finn's house that evening, she saw a new request on Facebook: Finn had requested to have himself and Rachel listed as "in a relationship." She smiled as she hit the accept button. A few minutes later, Finn called her. "Hey!" Rachel said as she answered the phone. "I got your request."

"I saw you did," Finn said. "I have some news for you."

"Tell me," Rachel said.

"Dalton called my mom," Finn said. "They said that there is an opening in the sophomore class, so I can visit this week and if things go well, I can go there."

"Really?" Rachel asked. "I'd get to see you a lot more if that happened!"

"Yeah, I know," Finn said. "So, did you see people's reaction to our relationship status?"

Rachel looked back at the status. Kurt, Blaine, Mercedes, Tina and a few of Rachel's friends from Crawford had hit the like button or left encouraging comments, and Quinn had left a long string of question marks.

"Wow," Rachel said. "Did you mean Quinn's comment?"

"Yeah," Finn said.

"Did you tell Puck and Quinn we saw Shelby?" Rachel asked.

"No," Finn said. "If I do switch schools I won't have to see them anymore. We just have to see if I get in."

"You'll get in, I know you will," Rachel said. She was so happy she and Finn were finally together.

_Chapter 13 preview: Finn gets into Dalton, and with both Finn and Rachel gone, the New Directions begin to wonder if they have what it takes to win without their stars and if they treated Finn and Rachel right. More developments for Finchel, and the appearance of another familiar face._

_10 reviews unlock Chapter 13!_


End file.
